Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC Reduces Position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC trimmed its position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 12.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 29,956 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 4,092 shares during the period. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $1,198,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Fermata Advisors LLC grew its stake in Verizon Communications by 4.5% in the third quarter. Fermata Advisors LLC now owns 5,626 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $253,000 after purchasing an additional 243 shares in the last quarter. Austin Private Wealth LLC grew its stake in Verizon Communications by 3.0% in the third quarter. Austin Private Wealth LLC now owns 8,450 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $379,000 after purchasing an additional 243 shares in the last quarter. Cary Street Partners Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Verizon Communications by 3.4% in the third quarter. Cary Street Partners Asset Management LLC now owns 7,628 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $343,000 after purchasing an additional 249 shares in the last quarter. Wynn Capital LLC grew its stake in Verizon Communications by 4.4% in the third quarter. Wynn Capital LLC now owns 5,945 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $267,000 after purchasing an additional 250 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Western Financial Corp CA grew its stake in Verizon Communications by 1.5% in the third quarter. Western Financial Corp CA now owns 17,491 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $786,000 after purchasing an additional 250 shares in the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have commented on the company. Wolfe Research lifted their target price on Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $51.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price on Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $42.00 in a research note on Friday. TD Cowen upgraded Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. KeyCorp downgraded Verizon Communications from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Scotiabank lifted their target price on Verizon Communications from $46.50 to $47.25 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $46.29.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:VZ opened at $39.54 on Friday. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12 month low of $37.58 and a 12 month high of $45.36. The stock has a market cap of $166.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.04, a PEG ratio of 3.27 and a beta of 0.46. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $40.89 and its 200 day moving average price is $41.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32, a current ratio of 0.66 and a quick ratio of 0.62.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last announced its earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.10 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.11 by ($0.01). Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 20.05% and a net margin of 7.30%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.08 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, January 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.6775 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 10th. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.85%. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is 116.81%.

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).