Bigelow Investment Advisors LLC Cuts Stock Position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Bigelow Investment Advisors LLC trimmed its holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 25.2% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 14,979 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 5,041 shares during the period. Bigelow Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $565,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in VZ. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA grew its stake in Verizon Communications by 627.8% during the fourth quarter. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA now owns 655 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 565 shares in the last quarter. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC grew its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 130.1% during the fourth quarter. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC now owns 863 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 488 shares in the last quarter. HBC Financial Services PLLC increased its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 320.0% in the third quarter. HBC Financial Services PLLC now owns 1,050 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 800 shares during the last quarter. RVW Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the third quarter worth about $36,000. Finally, Financial Management Professionals Inc. lifted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 58.4% in the fourth quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. now owns 1,096 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 404 shares in the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Verizon Communications Trading Up 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE:VZ traded up $0.36 on Friday, hitting $40.49. 23,409,278 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 19,783,584. The stock has a market capitalization of $170.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.25 and a beta of 0.41. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12 month low of $30.14 and a 12 month high of $43.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47, a current ratio of 0.69 and a quick ratio of 0.65. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $40.54 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $38.18.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 23rd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.08 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.08. The company had revenue of $35.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.60 billion. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 8.67% and a return on equity of 20.71%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down .6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.19 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 10th will be paid 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 6.57%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 96.38%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 24,000 shares of Verizon Communications stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.80, for a total value of $979,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 35,201 shares in the company, valued at $1,436,200.80. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.02% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VZ has been the topic of several recent research reports. Raymond James upped their price objective on Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $36.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 30th. Daiwa Capital Markets upgraded Verizon Communications from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $36.00 to $47.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. Finally, KeyCorp raised their price objective on Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $44.50.

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).