Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Shares Sold by Capital City Trust Co. FL

Capital City Trust Co. FL cut its position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 10.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,343 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 750 shares during the quarter. Capital City Trust Co. FL’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $254,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the 3rd quarter valued at about $31,000. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 69.6% in the 4th quarter. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 780 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 320 shares during the period. Compass Financial Services Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. Hager Investment Management Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter valued at about $38,000. Finally, Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC lifted its position in 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 acquiring an additional 839 shares during the period. 62.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Verizon Communications

In other news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.54, for a total transaction of $810,800.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 45,675 shares in the company, valued at $1,851,664.50. This trade represents a 30.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 39,085 shares of company stock worth $1,582,995. 0.02% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

NYSE VZ opened at $42.77 on Friday. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1-year low of $37.58 and a 1-year high of $45.36. The company has a market capitalization of $180.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.33, a PEG ratio of 4.40 and a beta of 0.45. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $39.91 and a 200 day moving average price of $41.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 0.63 and a quick ratio of 0.59.

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 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 period last year, the firm posted $1.08 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 10th were issued a dividend of $0.6775 per share. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.34%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 10th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 65.46%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have weighed in on VZ. StockNews.com cut Verizon Communications from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Wolfe Research increased their price objective on Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Argus raised Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $42.00 in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, DZ Bank raised Verizon Communications from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $40.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Ten 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. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $46.08.

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).