Legacy Private Trust Co. Sells 848 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Legacy Private Trust Co. lowered its position in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 9.3% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 8,256 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 848 shares during the quarter. Legacy Private Trust Co.’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $307,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Cascade Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Verizon Communications during the 1st quarter worth $32,000. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd boosted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 544.2% in the 2nd quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd now owns 889 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 751 shares during the last quarter. Kepos Capital LP acquired a new position in Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter valued at about $36,000. Founders Capital Management boosted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 44.2% during the second quarter. Founders Capital Management now owns 979 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Steward Financial Group LLC grew its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 92.9% during the 1st quarter. Steward Financial Group LLC now owns 957 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 461 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 61.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Trading Down 0.7 %

NYSE:VZ opened at $33.79 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $142.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 0.36. Verizon Communications Inc. has a twelve month low of $31.25 and a twelve month high of $42.58. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $33.74 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $36.01. The company has a quick ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.43.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 25th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.21 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.17 by $0.04. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 15.58% and a return on equity of 22.28%. The business had revenue of $32.60 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $33.30 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.31 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 10th will be issued a $0.665 dividend. This is a boost from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.65. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 6th. This represents a $2.66 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.87%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 52.20%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. HSBC cut their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $42.50 to $39.00 in a research report on Monday, June 5th. Citigroup raised shares of Verizon Communications from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $39.00 to $40.00 in a research report on Tuesday, August 29th. StockNews.com cut shares of Verizon Communications from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 5th. Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $43.00 target price on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Tuesday, August 22nd. Finally, Edward Jones downgraded Verizon Communications from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, July 17th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Verizon Communications currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $43.40.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Samantha Hammock sold 12,557 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.29, for a total value of $418,022.53. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.02% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

About Verizon Communications

Verizon Communications Inc, through its subsidiaries, provides communications, technology, information, and entertainment products and services to consumers, businesses, and governmental entities worldwide. It operates in two segments, Verizon Consumer Group (Consumer) and Verizon Business Group (Business).