Northeast Investment Management Cuts Position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

by · The Markets Daily

Northeast Investment Management decreased its position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ – Free Report) by 1.2% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 24,888 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 308 shares during the quarter. Northeast Investment Management’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $1,118,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Koesten Hirschmann & Crabtree INC. purchased a new stake in Verizon Communications in the first quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Accordant Advisory Group Inc grew its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 137.6% in the third quarter. Accordant Advisory Group Inc now owns 777 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 450 shares in the last quarter. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the second quarter worth $32,000. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the second quarter worth $33,000. Finally, McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 762.6% in the third quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 1,061 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $48,000 after acquiring an additional 938 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have commented on VZ. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $45.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. TD Cowen boosted their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $41.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Verizon Communications presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $46.37.

View Our Latest Report on Verizon Communications

Verizon Communications Price Performance

Shares of VZ opened at $41.36 on Monday. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1-year low of $35.31 and a 1-year high of $45.36. The stock has a market cap of $174.11 billion, a PE ratio of 17.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.06 and a beta of 0.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32, a current ratio of 0.66 and a quick ratio of 0.62. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $43.17 and a 200 day moving average price of $41.36.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ – Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.19 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.18 by $0.01. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 7.30% and a return on equity of 20.05%. The business had revenue of $33.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $33.42 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.22 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up .9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.61 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 10th were paid a dividend of $0.678 per share. This is an increase from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, October 10th. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.56%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is 116.81%.

Verizon Communications Company Profile

(Free Report)

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).

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