Unigestion Holding SA Sells 49,586 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Unigestion Holding SA lowered its stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 4.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,022,033 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 49,586 shares during the period. Verizon Communications makes up about 2.2% of Unigestion Holding SA’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 9th largest holding. Unigestion Holding SA’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $45,900,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of VZ. Kestra Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the third quarter valued at $3,376,000. Cyndeo Wealth Partners LLC raised its position in Verizon Communications by 9.7% during the third quarter. Cyndeo Wealth Partners LLC now owns 202,521 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $9,095,000 after buying an additional 17,855 shares during the period. Benjamin Edwards Inc. lifted its stake in Verizon Communications by 1,934.5% in the 3rd quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 1,080,015 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $48,503,000 after acquiring an additional 1,026,930 shares in the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC boosted its position in Verizon Communications by 2.9% during the 3rd quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 2,058,443 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $92,445,000 after acquiring an additional 57,583 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in Verizon Communications by 6.2% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 101,273,082 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $4,548,163,000 after acquiring an additional 5,936,009 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of Verizon Communications stock opened at $42.30 on Wednesday. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12-month low of $36.46 and a 12-month high of $45.36. The company has a quick ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $42.70 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $41.83. The stock has a market capitalization of $178.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.23, a PEG ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 0.44.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.18 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $33.30 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $33.42 billion. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 7.30% and a return on equity of 20.05%. Verizon Communications’s quarterly revenue was up .9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.22 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.61 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 10th will be given a $0.6775 dividend. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.41%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 10th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is currently 116.81%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on VZ shares. Bank of America increased their price target 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. KeyCorp downgraded shares of Verizon Communications from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday, September 23rd. Citigroup upped their price target 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, Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on Verizon Communications in a research report on Tuesday. They set a “market perform” rating and a $48.00 price objective for the company. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Verizon Communications currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $46.46.

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).