Janney Capital Management LLC Has $11.80 Million Holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Janney Capital Management LLC decreased its holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 4.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 295,120 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 14,197 shares during the quarter. Janney Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $11,802,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of VZ. Fermata Advisors LLC raised its stake in Verizon Communications by 4.5% during the third quarter. Fermata Advisors LLC now owns 5,626 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $253,000 after buying an additional 243 shares during the last quarter. Austin Private Wealth LLC raised its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 3.0% in the 3rd quarter. Austin Private Wealth LLC now owns 8,450 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $379,000 after acquiring an additional 243 shares in the last quarter. Semmax Financial Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 0.4% in the 2nd quarter. Semmax Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 54,926 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $2,240,000 after acquiring an additional 246 shares in the last quarter. Cary Street Partners Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 3.4% in the 3rd quarter. Cary Street Partners Asset Management LLC now owns 7,628 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $343,000 after purchasing an additional 249 shares during the period. Finally, Wynn Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 4.4% during the 3rd quarter. Wynn Capital LLC now owns 5,945 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $267,000 after purchasing an additional 250 shares in the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Verizon Communications Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE:VZ opened at $38.91 on Wednesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $40.97 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $41.66. The company has a market cap of $163.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.76, a PEG ratio of 3.25 and a beta of 0.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32, a current ratio of 0.66 and a quick ratio of 0.62. Verizon Communications Inc. has a one year low of $37.58 and a one year high of $45.36.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.19 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.18 by $0.01. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 20.05% and a net margin of 7.30%. The company had revenue of $33.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.42 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.22 earnings per share. Verizon Communications’s revenue was up .9% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 10th will be issued a $0.6775 dividend. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.97%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 10th. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is currently 116.81%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on VZ shares. StockNews.com lowered shares of Verizon Communications from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 16th. 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 report on Wednesday, September 25th. Tigress Financial raised their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on Verizon Communications in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $48.00 price objective for the company. Finally, KeyCorp downgraded Verizon Communications from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $46.54.

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).