CORDA Investment Management LLC. Sells 8,214 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

CORDA Investment Management LLC. cut its holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 1.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 794,372 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 8,214 shares during the quarter. Verizon Communications makes up approximately 2.5% of CORDA Investment Management LLC.’s holdings, making the stock its 16th largest holding. CORDA Investment Management LLC.’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $31,767,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of VZ. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new position in Verizon Communications in the 3rd quarter worth $31,000. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 69.6% during the fourth quarter. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 780 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 320 shares during the period. Compass Financial Services Inc bought a new position in Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. Hager Investment Management Services LLC purchased a new stake in Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter worth about $38,000. Finally, Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC boosted its position in Verizon Communications by 655.5% during the 4th quarter. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 967 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 839 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on VZ. Wolfe Research increased their target price on Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on Verizon Communications from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Scotiabank raised their price objective on Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $47.50 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $42.00 in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $46.08.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Verizon Communications news, EVP Vandana Venkatesh sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.79, for a total value of $437,900.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,459 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $633,159.61. This trade represents a 40.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Kyle Malady sold 11,085 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.88, for a total value of $453,154.80. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 14,590 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $596,439.20. This represents a 43.17 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 49,085 shares of company stock valued at $2,020,895. Company insiders own 0.02% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Stock Up 0.1 %

Verizon Communications stock opened at $43.21 on Friday. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12 month low of $37.58 and a 12 month high of $45.36. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $40.14 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $41.69. The company has a current ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. The firm has a market cap of $181.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.44, a PEG ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.45.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 24th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.10 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 in the prior year, the company earned $1.08 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, January 10th were issued a $0.6775 dividend. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.27%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 10th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is currently 65.46%.

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).