Prio Wealth Limited Partnership Sells 983 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Prio Wealth Limited Partnership lessened its position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 5.9% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 15,777 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 983 shares during the period. Prio Wealth Limited Partnership’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $709,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Gilliland Jeter Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Verizon Communications by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. Gilliland Jeter Wealth Management LLC now owns 24,228 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,088,000 after acquiring an additional 333 shares during the last quarter. Violich Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. Violich Capital Management Inc. now owns 170,057 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $7,637,000 after purchasing an additional 3,450 shares during the period. Penn Davis Mcfarland Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the 3rd quarter worth about $4,133,000. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. lifted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 11.8% in the 3rd quarter. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. now owns 28,979 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,301,000 after purchasing an additional 3,067 shares during the period. Finally, McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 762.6% in the 3rd quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 1,061 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $48,000 after purchasing an additional 938 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $41.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 26th. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. TD Cowen raised their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Raymond James raised their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 24th. Finally, KeyCorp lowered their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $44.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, September 6th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $46.31.

Verizon Communications Stock Down 0.5 %

Verizon Communications stock traded down $0.23 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $43.76. The stock had a trading volume of 3,431,643 shares, compared to its average volume of 18,342,627. The company has a quick ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29. The stock has a market capitalization of $184.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.02 and a beta of 0.42. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12-month low of $31.26 and a 12-month high of $45.36. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $42.94 and its 200-day moving average price is $41.27.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last issued its earnings results on Monday, July 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.15 earnings per share (EPS) 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 net margin of 8.38% and a return on equity of 20.10%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.21 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 10th will be paid a $0.678 dividend. 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 payout ratio is currently 101.12%.

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).