First National Bank of Omaha reduced its position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 7.6% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 149,676 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after selling 12,254 shares during the period. First National Bank of Omaha's holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $6,722,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.
Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in VZ. Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Verizon Communications by 1.4% during the second quarter. Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 17,760 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $732,000 after buying an additional 241 shares during the period. Fermata Advisors LLC boosted its position in Verizon Communications by 4.5% during the 3rd quarter. Fermata Advisors LLC now owns 5,626 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $253,000 after acquiring an additional 243 shares in the last quarter. Austin Private Wealth LLC increased its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 3.0% in the 3rd quarter. Austin Private Wealth LLC now owns 8,450 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $379,000 after acquiring an additional 243 shares during the period. Semmax Financial Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 0.4% in the 2nd quarter. Semmax Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 54,926 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $2,240,000 after acquiring an additional 246 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cary Street Partners Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 3.4% in the 3rd quarter. Cary Street Partners Asset Management LLC now owns 7,628 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $343,000 after acquiring an additional 249 shares in the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.
Shares of VZ opened at $42.37 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $42.75 and a two-hundred day moving average of $41.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a current ratio of 0.66. The stock has a market cap of $178.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.26, a P/E/G ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.44. Verizon Communications Inc. has a one year low of $36.46 and a one year high of $45.36.
Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.19 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.18 by $0.01. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 20.05% and a net margin of 7.30%. The firm had revenue of $33.30 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $33.42 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.22 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up .9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.61 EPS for the current year.
The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 10th will be issued a $0.6775 dividend. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.40%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 10th. Verizon Communications's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 116.81%.
Several research firms have issued reports on VZ. Bank of America lifted their target price on Verizon Communications from $41.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Scotiabank boosted their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $46.50 to $47.25 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. KeyCorp downgraded shares of Verizon Communications from an "overweight" rating to a "sector weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Tigress Financial upped their price target on Verizon Communications from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $46.37.
Read Our Latest Report on 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).
This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to [email protected].
Before you consider Verizon Communications, you'll want to hear this.
MarketBeat keeps track of Wall Street's top-rated and best performing research analysts and the stocks they recommend to their clients on a daily basis. MarketBeat has identified the five stocks that top analysts are quietly whispering to their clients to buy now before the broader market catches on... and Verizon Communications wasn't on the list.
While Verizon Communications currently has a "Hold" rating among analysts, top-rated analysts believe these five stocks are better buys.