Moody National Bank Trust Division Has $996,000 Stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Moody National Bank Trust Division lowered its holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 20.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 24,907 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 6,459 shares during the quarter. Moody National Bank Trust Division’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $996,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new position in Verizon Communications during the 3rd quarter worth $31,000. Accordant Advisory Group Inc lifted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 137.6% during the third quarter. Accordant Advisory Group Inc now owns 777 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 450 shares during the period. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 69.6% in the fourth quarter. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 780 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 320 shares during the last quarter. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Verizon Communications in the third quarter worth about $44,000. Finally, McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in Verizon Communications by 762.6% during the 3rd quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 1,061 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $48,000 after purchasing an additional 938 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on VZ shares. Raymond James raised their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. Bank of America increased their price target on Verizon Communications from $41.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. StockNews.com downgraded Verizon Communications from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 16th. Finally, Tigress Financial raised their target price on Verizon Communications from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $46.54.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

Shares of NYSE VZ opened at $38.09 on Tuesday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $41.23 and a 200 day moving average price of $41.78. The firm has a market cap of $160.34 billion, a PE ratio of 16.42, a PEG ratio of 3.05 and a beta of 0.46. The company has a current ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1-year low of $37.58 and a 1-year high of $45.36.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.19 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.18 by $0.01. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 20.05% and a net margin of 7.30%. The company 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 earned $1.22 earnings per share. Verizon Communications’s revenue for the quarter 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 fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Cuts Dividend

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

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).