Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ Stock Position Lowered by Cadinha & Co. LLC

Cadinha & Co. LLC decreased its position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 89.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 37,695 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 310,021 shares during the quarter. Cadinha & Co. LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $1,657,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of VZ. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 61.2% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 43,986 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,759,000 after buying an additional 16,704 shares in the last quarter. State of Wyoming lifted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 69.2% during the 1st quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 7,482 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $339,000 after acquiring an additional 3,060 shares during the last quarter. WPG Advisers LLC bought a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the 1st quarter worth $129,000. Evergreen Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 50.3% in the 1st quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC now owns 40,055 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,817,000 after acquiring an additional 13,413 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Activest Wealth Management raised its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 6.3% during the first quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 5,054 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $229,000 after purchasing an additional 299 shares during the period. 62.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

Shares of VZ opened at $40.49 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $40.36 and its 200-day moving average is $42.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 0.74 and a quick ratio of 0.69. The company has a market capitalization of $170.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.65, a P/E/G ratio of 3.62 and a beta of 0.33. Verizon Communications Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $37.58 and a fifty-two week high of $47.35.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 29th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.21 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.19 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $33.82 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.19 billion. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 14.43% and a return on equity of 19.31%. The firm’s revenue was up 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.19 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 2nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, January 12th will be paid a $0.69 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, January 12th. This represents a $2.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.8%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is 58.97%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on Verizon Communications from $49.00 to $47.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. TD Cowen reduced their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $56.00 to $51.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. BNP Paribas downgraded shares of Verizon Communications from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 21st. Scotiabank boosted their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $50.50 to $51.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Tuesday, September 2nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $49.00 price target for the company. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $47.47.

About Verizon Communications

Verizon Communications Inc (NYSE: VZ) is a major U.S.-based telecommunications company that provides a broad range of communications and information services. Its operations span consumer and business markets, with core offerings that include wireless voice and data services, fixed-line broadband and fiber-optic services, and enterprise networking solutions. Verizon is headquartered in New York City and operates a nationwide wireless network that supports consumer subscribers as well as business and government customers.

The company’s consumer products include mobile phone plans, unlimited data services, and Fios, its branded fiber-optic internet, television and voice service for homes and small businesses.