Peoples Financial Services CORP. Trims Stock Holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Peoples Financial Services CORP. lessened its position in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 3.7% during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 49,451 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 1,907 shares during the quarter. Peoples Financial Services CORP.’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $1,839,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Cascade Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Verizon Communications in the first quarter valued at $32,000. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd boosted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 544.2% in the second quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd now owns 889 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 751 shares during the last quarter. Kepos Capital LP acquired a new stake in Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter worth about $36,000. Steward Financial Group LLC raised its position in Verizon Communications by 92.9% during the first quarter. Steward Financial Group LLC now owns 957 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 461 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Founders Capital Management lifted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 44.2% in the second quarter. Founders Capital Management now owns 979 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares during the period. 61.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

Shares of NYSE VZ opened at $33.79 on Monday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $33.70 and a 200-day simple moving average of $35.94. The company has a quick ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.43. The stock has a market capitalization of $142.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 0.36. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52 week low of $31.25 and a 52 week high of $42.58.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 25th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.21 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.17 by $0.04. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 15.58% and a return on equity of 22.28%. The company had revenue of $32.60 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $33.30 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.31 EPS. Verizon Communications’s quarterly revenue was down 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.73 earnings per share 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. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, October 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.665 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 6th. This represents a $2.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.87%. This is a positive change from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.65. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is 53.20%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. StockNews.com cut shares of Verizon Communications from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 5th. Edward Jones cut shares of Verizon Communications from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, July 17th. HSBC lowered their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $42.50 to $39.00 in a research note on Monday, June 5th. Raymond James reduced their price target on Verizon Communications from $51.00 to $42.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 26th. Finally, Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $43.00 price objective on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Tuesday, August 22nd. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $43.40.

Insider Buying and Selling at Verizon Communications

In other news, EVP Samantha Hammock sold 12,557 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.29, for a total transaction of $418,022.53. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.02% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Verizon Communications Profile

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).