Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ Stake Reduced by First Citizens Bank & Trust Co.

First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. cut its holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 6.4% during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 31,673 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 2,154 shares during the quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co.’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $1,370,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Sargent Investment Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 3.3% in the 1st quarter. Sargent Investment Group LLC now owns 7,125 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $323,000 after acquiring an additional 230 shares during the last quarter. Providence Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 0.3% in the 1st quarter. Providence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 80,178 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $3,637,000 after acquiring an additional 240 shares during the last quarter. Wright Investors Service Inc. increased its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 1.2% in the 2nd quarter. Wright Investors Service Inc. now owns 21,255 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $920,000 after acquiring an additional 243 shares during the last quarter. Platform Technology Partners increased its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 0.8% in the 1st quarter. Platform Technology Partners now owns 31,513 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $1,429,000 after acquiring an additional 246 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Monetary Management Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 0.8% in the 1st quarter. Monetary Management Group Inc. now owns 30,150 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $1,368,000 after acquiring an additional 250 shares during the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. BNP Paribas cut Verizon Communications from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Scotiabank upped their price target on Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $50.50 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, October 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Bank of America raised their price target on Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane lowered Verizon Communications from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $44.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Tuesday. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating and thirteen have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Verizon Communications has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $47.41.

Verizon Communications Trading Up 1.1%

NYSE VZ opened at $38.83 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $163.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.05, a P/E/G ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 0.64 and a quick ratio of 0.60. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $42.84 and its 200-day moving average is $42.96. Verizon Communications Inc. has a one year low of $37.58 and a one year high of $47.35.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, October 10th will be given a $0.69 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 10th. This represents a $2.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.1%. This is a boost from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is 64.34%.

Verizon Communications Company Profile

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).