Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Shares Sold by Mayflower Financial Advisors LLC

Mayflower Financial Advisors LLC reduced its holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 2.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 25,443 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 552 shares during the quarter. Mayflower Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $1,017,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Orca Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,221,000. BSW Wealth Partners lifted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 16.8% in the fourth quarter. BSW Wealth Partners now owns 19,924 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $797,000 after buying an additional 2,868 shares during the period. Perigon Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Verizon Communications by 4.2% during the fourth quarter. Perigon Wealth Management LLC now owns 166,360 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $6,378,000 after buying an additional 6,744 shares in the last quarter. Jeppson Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Verizon Communications by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Jeppson Wealth Management LLC now owns 84,634 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $3,385,000 after acquiring an additional 335 shares during the period. Finally, Curbstone Financial Management Corp raised its position in Verizon Communications by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Curbstone Financial Management Corp now owns 34,786 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,391,000 after acquiring an additional 262 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $42.00 in a research note on Friday, January 24th. TD Cowen upgraded shares of Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Scotiabank increased their price objective on Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $47.50 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday. StockNews.com cut Verizon Communications from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 16th. Finally, UBS Group upped their target price on Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. Ten equities research 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 company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Verizon Communications has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $46.44.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

NYSE VZ opened at $40.44 on Wednesday. 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 $170.23 billion, a PE ratio of 17.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.27 and a beta of 0.46. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12-month low of $37.58 and a 12-month high of $45.36. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $40.82 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $41.61.

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 the consensus estimate of $1.11 by ($0.01). Verizon Communications had a net margin of 7.30% and a return on equity of 20.05%. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.08 earnings per share. As a group, 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, January 10th will be paid a $0.6775 dividend. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.70%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 10th. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is 116.81%.

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).