Hantz Financial Services Inc. Sells 4,714 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Hantz Financial Services Inc. lowered its holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 2.4% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 189,405 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 4,714 shares during the quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc.’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $8,506,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the 3rd quarter worth $31,000. Accordant Advisory Group Inc increased its holdings in Verizon Communications by 137.6% in the 3rd quarter. Accordant Advisory Group Inc now owns 777 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 450 shares during the period. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $32,000. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $44,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE VZ opened at $44.34 on Friday. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52-week low of $36.46 and a 52-week high of $45.36. 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 company’s 50 day moving average price is $42.91 and its 200-day moving average price is $41.69. The company has a market capitalization of $186.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.22 and a beta of 0.43.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.19 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.18 by $0.01. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 7.30% and a return on equity of 20.05%. The business had revenue of $33.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $33.42 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.22 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up .9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.61 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 10th were issued a $0.678 dividend. This is an increase from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.12%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 10th. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is presently 116.81%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on VZ shares. Raymond James upped their target price on Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $43.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $41.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, September 26th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Verizon Communications from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $46.37.

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).