Park Place Capital Corp Reduces Stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Park Place Capital Corp lessened its holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 24.1% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 14,551 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 4,625 shares during the period. Park Place Capital Corp’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $582,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of VZ. Luts & Greenleigh Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 6.0% during the 4th quarter. Luts & Greenleigh Group Inc. now owns 6,269 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $251,000 after buying an additional 356 shares during the last quarter. Viking Fund Management LLC grew its holdings in Verizon Communications by 31.9% during the fourth quarter. Viking Fund Management LLC now owns 215,000 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $8,598,000 after acquiring an additional 52,000 shares during the period. Advisory Alpha LLC raised its position in Verizon Communications by 10.5% during the fourth quarter. Advisory Alpha LLC now owns 20,713 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $828,000 after acquiring an additional 1,970 shares in the last quarter. MBM Wealth Consultants LLC lifted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 7.8% in the fourth quarter. MBM Wealth Consultants LLC now owns 7,349 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $295,000 after acquiring an additional 533 shares during the period. Finally, Bourne Lent Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 7.5% in the fourth quarter. Bourne Lent Asset Management Inc. now owns 6,357 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $254,000 after acquiring an additional 446 shares during the period. 62.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

Shares of NYSE VZ opened at $38.95 on Thursday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $40.97 and a 200-day simple moving average of $41.66. 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 market capitalization of $163.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.25 and a beta of 0.46. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52 week low of $37.58 and a 52 week high of $45.36.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.19 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.18 by $0.01. The company 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.22 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, January 10th will be issued a $0.6775 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 10th. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.96%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is presently 116.81%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently weighed in on VZ. TD Cowen raised shares of Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Tigress Financial lifted their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Scotiabank upped their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $46.50 to $47.25 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Bank of America raised their target price on Verizon Communications from $41.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 26th. Finally, Citigroup upped their price target on Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $46.54.

Verizon Communications 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).