Johnson & White Wealth Management LLC Has $318,000 Stock Holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Johnson & White Wealth Management LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 15.0% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 7,916 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 1,392 shares during the period. Johnson & White Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $318,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Fermata Advisors LLC grew its stake in Verizon Communications by 4.5% in 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 during the period. Austin Private Wealth LLC raised its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 3.0% during the 3rd quarter. Austin Private Wealth LLC now owns 8,450 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $379,000 after acquiring an additional 243 shares during the period. Semmax Financial Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in 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 valued at $2,240,000 after buying an additional 246 shares during the period. Cary Street Partners Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in 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 valued at $343,000 after buying an additional 249 shares during the period. Finally, Wynn Capital LLC grew its position in Verizon Communications by 4.4% in the 3rd quarter. Wynn Capital LLC now owns 5,945 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $267,000 after acquiring an additional 250 shares in the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:VZ opened at $38.09 on Tuesday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $41.23 and a 200 day moving average price of $41.78. The company has a quick ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32. Verizon Communications Inc. has a twelve month low of $37.58 and a twelve month high of $45.36. The company has a market cap of $160.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.42, a PEG ratio of 3.05 and a beta of 0.46.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.19 earnings per share (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 business had revenue of $33.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $33.42 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.22 EPS. Verizon Communications’s quarterly revenue was up .9% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.61 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 10th will be given a $0.6775 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 10th. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.11%. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is 116.81%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently commented on VZ. Tigress Financial boosted their price objective on Verizon Communications from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. UBS Group upped their price target on Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Bank of America upped their price objective on Verizon Communications from $41.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, September 26th. KeyCorp lowered Verizon Communications from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on Verizon Communications in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $48.00 target price on the stock. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $46.54.

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).