Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Shares Sold by Evernest Financial Advisors LLC

Evernest Financial Advisors LLC decreased its position in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 6.1% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 7,245 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 467 shares during the quarter. Evernest Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $325,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of VZ. Austin Private Wealth LLC grew its position in Verizon Communications by 10.3% in the first quarter. Austin Private Wealth LLC now owns 7,172 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $307,000 after acquiring an additional 672 shares during the period. Mechanics Bank Trust Department increased its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 1.5% during the 1st quarter. Mechanics Bank Trust Department now owns 32,647 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,370,000 after purchasing an additional 494 shares during the last quarter. Fermata Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Verizon Communications in the 1st quarter valued at about $215,000. Community Bank of Raymore lifted its position in Verizon Communications by 15.6% in the first quarter. Community Bank of Raymore now owns 6,609 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $277,000 after buying an additional 890 shares during the last quarter. Finally, DLK Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Verizon Communications during the first quarter worth about $213,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VZ has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. KeyCorp lowered their price target on Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $44.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, September 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $45.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on Verizon Communications in a research note on Monday, July 1st. They set a “buy” rating and a $50.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $46.31.

Verizon Communications Trading Down 0.6 %

NYSE:VZ opened at $43.72 on Tuesday. 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 Inc. has a 1 year low of $31.26 and a 1 year high of $45.36. The stock has a market cap of $184.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.31, a P/E/G ratio of 4.02 and a beta of 0.42. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $43.00 and a 200-day simple moving average of $41.28.

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

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 10th will be given a dividend of $0.678 per share. The ex-dividend date 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 dividend yield of 6.20%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 101.12%.

About Verizon Communications

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).