Petra Financial Advisors Inc. Sells 988 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Petra Financial Advisors Inc. trimmed its stake in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 14.8% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 5,690 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 988 shares during the quarter. Petra Financial Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $228,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of VZ. Argent Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Argent Advisors Inc. now owns 85,344 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $3,413,000 after buying an additional 963 shares in the last quarter. Aspen Wealth Strategies LLC grew its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 4.9% in the 4th quarter. Aspen Wealth Strategies LLC now owns 13,524 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $541,000 after buying an additional 630 shares during the last quarter. Flagship Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter valued at about $169,000. Horizon Kinetics Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 24.7% in the 4th quarter. Horizon Kinetics Asset Management LLC now owns 5,828 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $233,000 after buying an additional 1,153 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Curio Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter valued at about $85,000. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Verizon Communications news, EVP Vandana Venkatesh sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.79, for a total value of $437,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,459 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $633,159.61. This trade represents a 40.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Kyle Malady sold 8,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.88, for a total value of $319,040.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 6,590 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $262,809.20. This represents a 54.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 49,085 shares of company stock valued at $2,020,895 over the last ninety days. 0.02% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

Shares of VZ opened at $43.69 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. The company has a market capitalization of $183.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.55, a PEG ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.41. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $41.09 and a 200 day moving average of $41.95. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12 month low of $37.59 and a 12 month high of $47.36.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last issued its quarterly 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 in the previous year, the company earned $1.08 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be given a $0.6775 dividend. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.20%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is currently 65.46%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have issued reports on VZ shares. Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on Verizon Communications in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $48.00 price target on the stock. StockNews.com lowered Verizon Communications from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 13th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $42.00 in a report on Friday, January 24th. Scotiabank increased their price objective on Verizon Communications from $47.50 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, UBS Group increased their price objective on Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Verizon Communications has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $46.11.

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).