Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV Sells 834 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV decreased its stake in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 1.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 45,750 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 834 shares during the quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $1,725,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. WealthPlan Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Verizon Communications by 1,351,680.0% in the third quarter. WealthPlan Investment Management LLC now owns 202,767 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $6,572,000 after acquiring an additional 202,752 shares during the period. Lincoln National Corp increased its stake in Verizon Communications by 0.5% in the third quarter. Lincoln National Corp now owns 177,323 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $5,747,000 after acquiring an additional 892 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its stake in Verizon Communications by 1.4% in the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 182,713 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $5,922,000 after acquiring an additional 2,579 shares during the period. Sfmg LLC boosted its position in Verizon Communications by 7.9% in the third quarter. Sfmg LLC now owns 127,984 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $4,148,000 after buying an additional 9,321 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Widmann Financial Services Inc. boosted its position in Verizon Communications by 15.2% in the third quarter. Widmann Financial Services Inc. now owns 32,586 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $1,056,000 after buying an additional 4,305 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE VZ traded up $0.31 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $39.74. 10,419,992 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 15,358,114. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $40.31 and its 200-day simple moving average is $39.47. The company has a quick ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42. The stock has a market capitalization of $167.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.83, a P/E/G ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.42. Verizon Communications Inc. has a twelve month low of $30.14 and a twelve month high of $43.42.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last posted its earnings results on Monday, April 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.12 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $33 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $33.23 billion. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 8.44% and a return on equity of 20.41%. Verizon Communications’s quarterly revenue was up .3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.20 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.6 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 10th were issued a $0.665 dividend. This represents a $2.66 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.69%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, April 9th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is currently 99.25%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $48.00 price target on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Redburn Atlantic upgraded shares of Verizon Communications from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $33.00 to $39.00 in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $40.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 26th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $36.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Verizon Communications has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $44.36.

About Verizon Communications

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).