Sawgrass Asset Management LLC Reduces Stock Position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Sawgrass Asset Management LLC decreased its position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 24.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 17,870 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 5,630 shares during the quarter. Sawgrass Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $674,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 4.8% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 98,027,542 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $3,151,714,000 after buying an additional 4,527,387 shares during the period. FMR LLC grew its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 17.0% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 28,400,326 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $920,455,000 after acquiring an additional 4,134,150 shares during the period. Comerica Bank bought a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $133,491,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Verizon Communications by 3,782.4% during the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 3,974,813 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $149,850,000 after buying an additional 3,872,434 shares during the period. Finally, Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec boosted its stake in Verizon Communications by 104.0% during the third quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 5,302,051 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $171,839,000 after acquiring an additional 2,703,197 shares in the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Verizon Communications

In other news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 24,000 shares of the company’s 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 35,201 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,436,200.80. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.03% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:VZ traded down $0.02 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $39.31. The company had a trading volume of 10,759,940 shares, compared to its average volume of 19,841,270. The company has a market cap of $165.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.67, a PEG ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a current ratio of 0.71 and a quick ratio of 0.67. The company has a fifty day moving average of $40.30 and a two-hundred day moving average of $39.01. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12-month low of $30.14 and a 12-month high of $43.42.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.15 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.12 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $33 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $33.23 billion. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 20.41% and a net margin of 8.44%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.20 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 10th were given a dividend of $0.665 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, April 9th. This represents a $2.66 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.77%. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is 99.25%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently commented on VZ shares. 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. Redburn Atlantic upgraded Verizon Communications from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $33.00 to $39.00 in a report on Friday, March 22nd. Raymond James upped their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $40.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 23rd. Finally, KeyCorp increased their price objective 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. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $44.21.

About Verizon Communications

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).