Curbstone Financial Management Corp Boosts Stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Curbstone Financial Management Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 0.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 34,786 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after buying an additional 262 shares during the period. Curbstone Financial Management Corp’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $1,391,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Buffington Mohr McNeal boosted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 23.5% in the 4th quarter. Buffington Mohr McNeal now owns 7,628 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $305,000 after buying an additional 1,449 shares during the last quarter. Joseph P. Lucia & Associates LLC grew its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Joseph P. Lucia & Associates LLC now owns 30,094 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $1,203,000 after purchasing an additional 528 shares during the period. FSC Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 46.4% during the 4th quarter. FSC Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,119 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $165,000 after purchasing an additional 1,305 shares during the last quarter. Nilsine Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 13.7% in the 4th quarter. Nilsine Partners LLC now owns 25,625 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,025,000 after purchasing an additional 3,090 shares during the period. Finally, Foundations Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 27.7% in the fourth quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 222,366 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $8,892,000 after buying an additional 48,294 shares during the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Verizon Communications Trading Up 2.8 %

Shares of VZ stock opened at $40.64 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $40.85 and its 200-day moving average price is $41.62. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12-month low of $37.58 and a 12-month high of $45.36. The stock has a market capitalization of $171.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.27 and a beta of 0.46. The company has a current ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 24th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.11 by ($0.01). Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 20.05% and a net margin of 7.30%. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.08 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 10th will be given a dividend of $0.6775 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 10th. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.67%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 116.81%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on VZ. Wolfe Research boosted their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $51.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday. UBS Group raised their price objective on Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Scotiabank boosted their price objective on Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $47.50 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday. Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $48.00 target price for the company. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $46.44.

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).