Woodstock Corp Reduces Stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Woodstock Corp decreased its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 2.4% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 50,690 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 1,226 shares during the quarter. Woodstock Corp’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $2,027,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VZ. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the third quarter worth about $31,000. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. increased its position in Verizon Communications by 69.6% during the fourth quarter. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 780 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 320 shares during the period. Accordant Advisory Group Inc increased its position in Verizon Communications by 137.6% during the third quarter. Accordant Advisory Group Inc now owns 777 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 450 shares during the period. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Verizon Communications in the third quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Finally, IFS Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 244.1% in the fourth quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 1,115 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $45,000 after acquiring an additional 791 shares during the period. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

NYSE:VZ opened at $38.32 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $41.11 and its 200-day simple moving average is $41.73. 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 cap of $161.32 billion, a PE ratio of 16.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.17 and a beta of 0.46. Verizon Communications Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $37.58 and a fifty-two week high of $45.36.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.19 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.18 by $0.01. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 7.30% and a return on equity of 20.05%. The company had revenue of $33.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.42 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.22 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .9% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.07%. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is 116.81%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. StockNews.com cut shares of Verizon Communications from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 16th. TD Cowen raised shares of Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Raymond James raised their price target on Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 24th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective 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. Finally, Citigroup lifted their target price on Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Ten investment 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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).