Plimoth Trust Co. LLC Lowers Stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Plimoth Trust Co. LLC cut its position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 8.3% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 82,769 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 7,521 shares during the period. Plimoth Trust Co. LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $3,717,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 0.3% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 351,267,175 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $14,739,171,000 after buying an additional 1,216,963 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc grew its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 3.0% during the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 38,357,031 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $1,581,848,000 after purchasing an additional 1,106,887 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 1.5% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 35,561,841 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,466,446,000 after purchasing an additional 535,322 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates lifted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 0.6% in the second quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 16,458,264 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $678,739,000 after buying an additional 104,447 shares in the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. boosted its stake in Verizon Communications by 7.7% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 13,127,360 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $541,372,000 after buying an additional 936,823 shares during the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

Verizon Communications stock opened at $43.72 on Tuesday. Verizon Communications Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $31.26 and a fifty-two week high of $45.36. The company has a market capitalization of $184.01 billion, a PE ratio of 16.31, a P/E/G ratio of 4.02 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $43.00 and a 200-day moving average price of $41.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a current ratio of 0.63.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last issued its earnings results on Monday, July 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.15 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.15. The business had revenue of $32.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $33.05 billion. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 20.10% and a net margin of 8.38%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.21 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, October 10th will be paid a $0.678 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 10th. This is a positive change from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.20%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is 101.12%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently issued reports on VZ shares. Bank of America upped their price objective on Verizon Communications from $41.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, September 26th. Tigress Financial increased their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Monday, July 1st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $50.00 target price on the stock. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Finally, Scotiabank boosted their price objective on Verizon Communications from $46.50 to $47.25 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $46.31.

Verizon Communications Company Profile

Verizon Communications Inc, through its subsidiaries, engages in the provision of 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).