Goelzer Investment Management Inc. Sells 3,157 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Goelzer Investment Management Inc. lowered its position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 1.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 188,380 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 3,157 shares during the quarter. Goelzer Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $7,533,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Fermata Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 4.5% during the 3rd 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 period. Austin Private Wealth LLC boosted its stake 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 valued at $379,000 after purchasing an additional 243 shares in the last quarter. Cary Street Partners Asset Management LLC grew its holdings 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 worth $343,000 after purchasing an additional 249 shares during the last quarter. Wynn Capital LLC increased 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 worth $267,000 after purchasing an additional 250 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Western Financial Corp CA lifted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Western Financial Corp CA now owns 17,491 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $786,000 after purchasing an additional 250 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Stock Up 0.9 %

Verizon Communications stock opened at $39.54 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $40.89 and a 200-day moving average of $41.63. The company has a quick ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32. Verizon Communications Inc. has a twelve month low of $37.58 and a twelve month high of $45.36. The stock has a market capitalization of $166.43 billion, a PE ratio of 17.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.27 and a beta of 0.46.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last released its earnings results 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 firm posted $1.08 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate 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. 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 6.85%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 10th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is presently 116.81%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently weighed in on VZ shares. Tigress Financial raised their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $42.00 in a research note on Friday. Wolfe Research raised their target price on Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $51.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday. KeyCorp downgraded shares of Verizon Communications from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, TD Cowen raised shares of Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $46.29.

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).