Morningstar Investment Management LLC Lowers Stock Holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Morningstar Investment Management LLC cut its holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 16.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 171,610 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 33,409 shares during the quarter. Verizon Communications accounts for 0.5% of Morningstar Investment Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 23rd largest position. Morningstar Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $6,863,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in VZ. Hussman Strategic Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 75.0% during the fourth quarter. Hussman Strategic Advisors Inc. now owns 147,000 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $5,879,000 after purchasing an additional 63,000 shares in the last quarter. Boston Financial Mangement LLC boosted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 8.2% in the 4th quarter. Boston Financial Mangement LLC now owns 6,975 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $279,000 after buying an additional 530 shares during the last quarter. Advyzon Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter worth approximately $459,000. Handelsbanken Fonder AB raised its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 4.2% during the fourth quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 1,501,426 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $60,042,000 after acquiring an additional 60,900 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sunpointe LLC lifted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 23.4% in the fourth quarter. Sunpointe LLC now owns 11,425 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $457,000 after acquiring an additional 2,170 shares in the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Verizon Communications Stock Up 2.0 %

Shares of NYSE:VZ opened at $42.04 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $176.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.15, a PEG ratio of 4.28 and a beta of 0.45. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12-month low of $37.58 and a 12-month high of $45.36. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $39.89 and a 200 day moving average price of $41.58. The company has a current ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21.

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 12.99% and a return on equity of 19.80%. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.08 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 10th were given a $0.6775 dividend. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.45%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 10th. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is 65.46%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VZ has been the subject of several research reports. Tigress Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $55.00 price target on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Scotiabank upped their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $47.50 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Argus raised shares of Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. TD Cowen raised shares of Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Finally, KeyCorp downgraded shares of Verizon Communications from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $46.08.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Verizon Communications news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 8,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.88, for a total transaction of $319,040.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 6,590 shares in the company, valued at $262,809.20. This represents a 54.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders have sold 39,085 shares of company stock worth $1,582,995 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.02% of the company’s stock.

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).