Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Shares Sold by Abacus Planning Group Inc.

Abacus Planning Group Inc. reduced its position in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 4.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 15,240 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 718 shares during the period. Abacus Planning Group Inc.’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $609,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in VZ. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 6.2% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 101,273,082 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $4,548,163,000 after purchasing an additional 5,936,009 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 2.2% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 95,824,245 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $4,289,054,000 after buying an additional 2,081,241 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 2.0% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 29,074,297 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,305,727,000 after buying an additional 565,842 shares in the last quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC grew its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 2.8% during the third quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 18,161,563 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $815,636,000 after buying an additional 502,949 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Swiss National Bank grew its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 0.4% during the third quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 12,493,998 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $561,105,000 after buying an additional 46,100 shares in the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Verizon Communications

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 approximately $262,809.20. The trade was a 54.83 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders sold 39,085 shares of company stock worth $1,582,995 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.02% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on VZ. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Verizon Communications from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $42.00 in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $48.00 price target for the company. Wolfe Research raised their price target 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. Finally, DZ Bank raised shares of Verizon Communications from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $40.00 price objective for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $46.08.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:VZ opened at $42.04 on Thursday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $39.89 and its two-hundred day moving average is $41.58. The firm has a market capitalization of $176.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.15, a PEG ratio of 4.28 and a beta of 0.45. 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 Inc. has a 52 week low of $37.58 and a 52 week high of $45.36.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last posted 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 net margin of 12.99% and a return on equity of 19.80%. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.08 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Cuts Dividend

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

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).