Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Shares Sold by Calton & Associates Inc.

Calton & Associates Inc. reduced its holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 70.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 8,506 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 19,860 shares during the quarter. Calton & Associates Inc.’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $340,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Verizon Communications by 69.6% during the fourth quarter. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 780 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 320 shares in the last quarter. Accordant Advisory Group Inc grew its holdings in Verizon Communications by 137.6% in the third quarter. Accordant Advisory Group Inc now owns 777 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 450 shares during the last quarter. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 655.5% during the 4th quarter. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 967 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 839 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the 3rd quarter worth about $44,000. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Verizon Communications

In related news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.54, for a total transaction of $810,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 45,675 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,851,664.50. This trade represents a 30.45 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.02% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on VZ shares. Wolfe Research lifted their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. StockNews.com downgraded Verizon Communications from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Argus upgraded Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $42.00 in a report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Tigress Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $55.00 price objective on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Thursday. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $46.08.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

NYSE VZ opened at $39.47 on Friday. 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 Inc. has a 1-year low of $37.58 and a 1-year high of $45.36. The firm has a market capitalization of $166.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.01, a P/E/G ratio of 3.27 and a beta of 0.46. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $40.75 and its 200-day simple moving average is $41.60.

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

Verizon Communications Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, January 10th will be issued a $0.6775 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 10th. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.87%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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).