Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) Trading Down 0.8% Following Insider Selling

Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) were down 0.8% during mid-day trading on Thursday after an insider sold shares in the company. The company traded as low as $39.72 and last traded at $39.81. Approximately 3,313,879 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 87% from the average daily volume of 24,954,252 shares. The stock had previously closed at $40.13.

Specifically, CEO Kyle Malady sold 8,000 shares of Verizon Communications stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.88, for a total value of $319,040.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 6,590 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $262,809.20. This trade represents a 54.83 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Kyle Malady sold 11,085 shares of Verizon Communications stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.88, for a total value of $453,154.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 14,590 shares in the company, valued at approximately $596,439.20. This represents a 43.17 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have weighed in on VZ shares. UBS Group raised their price target on Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Scotiabank raised their price target on Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $47.50 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. KeyCorp downgraded Verizon Communications from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on Verizon Communications in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $48.00 target price for the company. Finally, TD Cowen upgraded Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $46.08.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a current ratio of 0.63. The company has a market cap of $167.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.63, a PEG ratio of 4.11 and a beta of 0.45. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $40.27 and a 200 day moving average price of $41.52.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.10 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 last year, the firm posted $1.08 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 10th were issued a dividend of $0.6775 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 10th. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.80%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 65.46%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Verizon Communications

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of VZ. Fermata Advisors LLC grew its position in Verizon Communications by 4.5% during the 3rd quarter. Fermata Advisors LLC now owns 5,626 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $253,000 after acquiring an additional 243 shares during the last quarter. Austin Private Wealth LLC grew its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 3.0% in the 3rd quarter. Austin Private Wealth LLC now owns 8,450 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $379,000 after buying an additional 243 shares during the last quarter. Cary Street Partners Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 3.4% in the 3rd quarter. Cary Street Partners Asset Management LLC now owns 7,628 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $343,000 after buying an additional 249 shares during the last quarter. Wynn Capital LLC grew its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 4.4% in the 3rd quarter. Wynn Capital LLC now owns 5,945 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $267,000 after buying an additional 250 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Western Financial Corp CA grew its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. Western Financial Corp CA now owns 17,491 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $786,000 after buying an additional 250 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

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).