State of Alaska Department of Revenue Sells 45,835 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

State of Alaska Department of Revenue trimmed its position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 6.8% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 626,412 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 45,835 shares during the period. State of Alaska Department of Revenue’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $23,614,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Certified Advisory Corp raised its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 1.0% during the first quarter. Certified Advisory Corp now owns 23,297 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $1,187,000 after acquiring an additional 233 shares during the last quarter. Pacifica Partners Inc. raised its position in Verizon Communications by 4.6% during the 4th quarter. Pacifica Partners Inc. now owns 5,800 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $223,000 after purchasing an additional 255 shares during the last quarter. Selective Wealth Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. Selective Wealth Management Inc. now owns 9,511 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $374,000 after buying an additional 257 shares during the period. Horizon Bancorp Inc. IN grew its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 24.9% in the 4th quarter. Horizon Bancorp Inc. IN now owns 1,293 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $49,000 after buying an additional 258 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SRS Capital Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 2.3% during the third quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 12,558 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $407,000 after buying an additional 285 shares during the period. 62.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Verizon Communications Stock Up 1.0 %

Shares of NYSE VZ traded up $0.42 during trading on Friday, reaching $41.96. The company had a trading volume of 19,771,402 shares, compared to its average volume of 18,609,096. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12-month low of $30.14 and a 12-month high of $43.21. The company has a quick ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47. The business’s 50-day moving average is $40.63 and its 200 day moving average is $37.37. The stock has a market cap of $176.41 billion, a PE ratio of 15.20, a P/E/G ratio of 3.37 and a beta of 0.40.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 23rd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.08 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.08. The company had revenue of $35.10 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.60 billion. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 8.67% and a return on equity of 20.71%. Verizon Communications’s revenue for the quarter was down .6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.19 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 10th will be given a $0.665 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 9th. This represents a $2.66 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.34%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 96.38%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Verizon Communications

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently weighed in on the stock. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $37.00 to $43.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 26th. KeyCorp raised their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. Raymond James upped their target price on Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on Verizon Communications from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 20th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $43.86.

Verizon Communications 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).