Penobscot Investment Management Company Inc. Has $1.07 Million Stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Penobscot Investment Management Company Inc. trimmed its position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 1.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 28,360 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 475 shares during the quarter. Penobscot Investment Management Company Inc.’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $1,069,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA raised its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 627.8% in the fourth quarter. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA now owns 655 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 565 shares in the last quarter. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC grew its position in Verizon Communications by 130.1% in the fourth quarter. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC now owns 863 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 488 shares during the period. HBC Financial Services PLLC grew its position in Verizon Communications by 320.0% in the third quarter. HBC Financial Services PLLC now owns 1,050 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 800 shares during the period. Finally, Cetera Trust Company N.A bought a new stake in Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter valued at $37,000. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. UBS Group upped their price target on Verizon Communications from $37.00 to $43.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. KeyCorp increased their target price on Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. Citigroup increased their target price on Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 30th. Daiwa Capital Markets upgraded Verizon Communications from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $36.00 to $47.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $40.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $44.21.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

Verizon Communications stock opened at $39.49 on Wednesday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $40.43 and its 200 day simple moving average is $38.74. The stock has a market cap of $166.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.74, a P/E/G ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 0.41. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12-month low of $30.14 and a 12-month high of $43.42. The company has a quick ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.12 by $0.03. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 20.41% and a net margin of 8.44%. The business had revenue of $33 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $33.23 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.20 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up .3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.6 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 10th will be paid a $0.665 dividend. This represents a $2.66 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.74%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 9th. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is 99.25%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Verizon Communications

In other Verizon Communications news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 24,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.80, for a total value of $979,200.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 35,201 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,436,200.80. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

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).