Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Shares Sold by Everett Harris & Co. CA

Everett Harris & Co. CA lessened its stake in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 8.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 569,274 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 50,379 shares during the period. Everett Harris & Co. CA’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $21,462,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Accel Wealth Management boosted its stake in Verizon Communications by 9.5% during the 4th quarter. Accel Wealth Management now owns 9,712 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $366,000 after purchasing an additional 840 shares during the last quarter. Trueblood Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter valued at about $648,000. Successful Portfolios LLC raised its holdings in Verizon Communications by 22.8% in the 4th quarter. Successful Portfolios LLC now owns 8,240 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $311,000 after acquiring an additional 1,532 shares during the last quarter. Maltin Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter worth approximately $212,000. Finally, Great Lakes Retirement Inc. lifted its stake in Verizon Communications by 2.9% in the 4th quarter. Great Lakes Retirement Inc. now owns 30,980 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,168,000 after purchasing an additional 873 shares in the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Verizon Communications Stock Up 1.7 %

VZ traded up $0.69 on Wednesday, hitting $41.54. 19,204,788 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 20,358,660. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $40.52 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $37.31. The company has a current ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47. Verizon Communications Inc. has a twelve month low of $30.14 and a twelve month high of $43.21. The company has a market cap of $174.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.31 and a beta of 0.40.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 23rd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.08. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 8.67% and a return on equity of 20.71%. The company had revenue of $35.10 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.60 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.19 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down .6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.61 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 10th will be issued a $0.665 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 9th. This represents a $2.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.40%. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is currently 96.38%.

Insider Transactions at Verizon Communications

In related news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 15,000 shares of Verizon Communications stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.33, for a total transaction of $604,950.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 59,201 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,387,576.33. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.02% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently commented on VZ. StockNews.com downgraded Verizon Communications from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. KeyCorp boosted their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $40.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 20th. Finally, Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $43.00 price objective on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Tuesday, December 19th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $43.86.

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).