Johnson Financial Group Inc. Sells 44,980 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Johnson Financial Group Inc. decreased its stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 55.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 36,766 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 44,980 shares during the period. Johnson Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $1,386,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Taylor Hoffman Wealth Management boosted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 32.9% in the 4th quarter. Taylor Hoffman Wealth Management now owns 9,353 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $353,000 after purchasing an additional 2,314 shares in the last quarter. WealthTrust Axiom LLC boosted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. WealthTrust Axiom LLC now owns 118,806 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $4,479,000 after purchasing an additional 2,422 shares in the last quarter. Portland Investment Counsel Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 173.7% in the 3rd quarter. Portland Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 652,169 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $21,137,000 after purchasing an additional 413,869 shares in the last quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC boosted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 127,632 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $5,131,000 after purchasing an additional 1,616 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GFS Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter valued at $212,000. Institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Trading Up 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE:VZ traded up $0.31 on Friday, hitting $39.74. The company had a trading volume of 10,419,992 shares, compared to its average volume of 15,358,114. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $40.31 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $39.47. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1 year low of $30.14 and a 1 year high of $43.42. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $167.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.83, a P/E/G ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.42.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last posted its earnings results on Monday, April 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.15 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.12 by $0.03. The firm 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%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up .3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.20 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on VZ shares. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $36.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 30th. Tigress Financial increased their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 17th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $40.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Verizon Communications from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 4th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target 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).