TrueMark Investments LLC Sells 90,679 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

TrueMark Investments LLC cut its position in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 26.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 250,993 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 90,679 shares during the quarter. Verizon Communications comprises about 1.9% of TrueMark Investments LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 3rd largest position. TrueMark Investments LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $11,031,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Brighton Jones LLC increased its holdings in Verizon Communications by 61.2% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 43,986 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,759,000 after purchasing an additional 16,704 shares in the last quarter. Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 12.3% during the 2nd quarter. Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc. now owns 15,059 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $652,000 after buying an additional 1,646 shares in the last quarter. Register Financial Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 30.6% in the 2nd quarter. Register Financial Advisors LLC now owns 10,916 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $472,000 after acquiring an additional 2,556 shares in the last quarter. Old North State Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 5.4% during the 2nd quarter. Old North State Wealth Management LLC now owns 46,606 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $2,018,000 after acquiring an additional 2,388 shares during the period. Finally, Brave Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in Verizon Communications by 33.1% during the second quarter. Brave Asset Management Inc. now owns 27,553 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,192,000 after acquiring an additional 6,853 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

VZ stock opened at $39.53 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $166.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.77 and a beta of 0.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a current ratio of 0.74. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52-week low of $38.39 and a 52-week high of $47.35. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $40.37 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $41.63.

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

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 2nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, January 12th will be issued a $0.69 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, January 12th. This represents a $2.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.0%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is currently 58.97%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. TD Cowen decreased their price target 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. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their target price on Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $44.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Wall Street Zen lowered Verizon Communications from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, September 26th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $47.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, December 10th. Finally, Barclays started coverage on Verizon Communications in a research note on Thursday. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $43.00 price objective for the company. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Verizon Communications has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $47.07.

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.