Gateway Investment Advisers LLC Sells 58,959 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Gateway Investment Advisers LLC cut its stake in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 24.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 180,901 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 58,959 shares during the period. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $7,951,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Bulwark Capital Corp bought a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the second quarter worth approximately $25,000. Advantage Trust Co grew its holdings in Verizon Communications by 549.5% in the 2nd quarter. Advantage Trust Co now owns 591 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Verizon Communications by 95.3% in the 3rd quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC now owns 625 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 305 shares in the last quarter. RMG Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Verizon Communications during the 2nd quarter worth $30,000. Finally, Global Wealth Strategies & Associates lifted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 739.5% during the third quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 680 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 599 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

VZ stock opened at $40.46 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12 month low of $37.58 and a 12 month high of $47.35. The firm has a market cap of $170.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.65, a P/E/G ratio of 3.51 and a beta of 0.34. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $40.46 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $41.94.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.21 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.19 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $33.82 billion during 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 quarterly revenue was up 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.19 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. TD Cowen reduced their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $56.00 to $51.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $44.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 30th. BNP Paribas Exane lowered shares of Verizon Communications from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $44.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Tuesday, October 21st. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Verizon Communications from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Friday, October 24th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $47.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, December 10th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $47.47.

Verizon Communications Profile

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.