ORG Partners LLC Cuts Position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

ORG Partners LLC trimmed its position in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 7.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 32,680 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 2,635 shares during the period. ORG Partners LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $1,309,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. First International Bank & Trust increased its stake in Verizon Communications by 18.7% during the fourth quarter. First International Bank & Trust now owns 7,046 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $282,000 after acquiring an additional 1,109 shares during the last quarter. Watts Gwilliam & Co. LLC increased its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 18.9% during the 4th quarter. Watts Gwilliam & Co. LLC now owns 12,998 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $506,000 after purchasing an additional 2,066 shares during the last quarter. First Hawaiian Bank raised its holdings in Verizon Communications by 7.7% during the 4th quarter. First Hawaiian Bank now owns 31,672 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $1,267,000 after buying an additional 2,267 shares during the period. Douglas Lane & Associates LLC lifted its position in Verizon Communications by 6.4% in the fourth quarter. Douglas Lane & Associates LLC now owns 21,642 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $865,000 after buying an additional 1,294 shares during the last quarter. Finally, InvesTrust purchased a new position in Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter worth $5,956,000. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Verizon Communications Stock Down 1.6 %

NYSE:VZ traded down $0.63 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $37.63. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 6,501,918 shares, compared to its average volume of 20,710,463. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a current ratio of 0.66. The company has a market capitalization of $158.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.05 and a beta of 0.46. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $41.36 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $41.81. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12 month low of $37.56 and a 12 month 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 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.18 by $0.01. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 20.05% and a net margin of 7.30%. The firm had revenue of $33.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $33.42 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.22 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up .9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.61 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 given a $0.6775 dividend. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.20%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 10th. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is currently 116.81%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. Tigress Financial boosted their target price on Verizon Communications from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. Raymond James raised their price target on Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on Verizon Communications in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $48.00 target price on the stock. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $46.54.

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).