Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Stock Holdings Reduced by Fiduciary Group LLC

Fiduciary Group LLC lowered its position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 2.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 129,109 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 3,100 shares during the quarter. Fiduciary Group LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $5,163,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of VZ. Swedbank AB grew its position in Verizon Communications by 0.8% in the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 5,174,541 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $232,389,000 after acquiring an additional 39,403 shares in the last quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc grew its position in Verizon Communications by 29.4% in the third quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc now owns 149,156 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $6,700,000 after acquiring an additional 33,900 shares in the last quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 21.0% in the third quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 36,872 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,665,000 after purchasing an additional 6,388 shares in the last quarter. Premier Fund Managers Ltd bought a new stake in Verizon Communications in the third quarter worth $8,122,000. Finally, Prospera Private Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 15.7% in the third quarter. Prospera Private Wealth LLC now owns 47,999 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $2,156,000 after purchasing an additional 6,506 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Verizon Communications news, EVP Vandana Venkatesh sold 10,000 shares of Verizon Communications stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.79, for a total transaction of $437,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,459 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $633,159.61. This trade represents a 40.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Kyle Malady sold 20,000 shares of Verizon Communications stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.54, for a total transaction of $810,800.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 45,675 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,851,664.50. This represents a 30.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 49,085 shares of company stock worth $2,020,895 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.02% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

Shares of VZ stock opened at $43.92 on Thursday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $41.30 and a two-hundred day moving average of $41.98. 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 12 month low of $37.59 and a 12 month high of $47.36. The company has a market capitalization of $184.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.61, a P/E/G ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.41.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last issued 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 return on equity of 19.80% and a net margin of 12.99%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.08 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.6775 per share. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.17%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is 65.46%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the company. DZ Bank upgraded Verizon Communications from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $40.00 price target for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on Verizon Communications from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Wolfe Research cut Verizon Communications from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $48.00 price objective for the company. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus 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).