Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Shares Sold by Trillium Asset Management LLC

Trillium Asset Management LLC decreased its stake in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 92.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 31,270 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 376,071 shares during the quarter. Trillium Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $1,250,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Xponance Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 649,003 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $25,954,000 after purchasing an additional 9,079 shares during the period. Generali Asset Management SPA SGR acquired a new position in Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter worth approximately $18,904,000. Horizon Investments LLC raised its position in Verizon Communications by 3.0% during the 4th quarter. Horizon Investments LLC now owns 88,454 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $3,475,000 after buying an additional 2,591 shares during the last quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in Verizon Communications by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,312,405 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $52,483,000 after acquiring an additional 5,397 shares during the period. Finally, Retirement Planning Co of New England Inc. increased its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. Retirement Planning Co of New England Inc. now owns 18,931 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $757,000 after acquiring an additional 413 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Trading Down 0.7 %

Shares of Verizon Communications stock opened at $43.92 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. Verizon Communications Inc. has a twelve month low of $37.59 and a twelve month high of $47.36. The firm has a market capitalization of $184.90 billion, a PE ratio of 10.61, a P/E/G ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.41. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $41.30 and its 200 day moving average price is $41.98.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last released its earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.10 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.11 by ($0.01). Verizon Communications had a net margin of 12.99% and a return on equity of 19.80%. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.08 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.6775 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.17%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 65.46%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. DZ Bank raised Verizon Communications from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $40.00 price objective for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. UBS Group lifted their price target on Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. StockNews.com lowered Verizon Communications from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $42.00 in a report on Friday, January 24th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $46.11.

Insider Transactions at Verizon Communications

In other Verizon Communications news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 11,085 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.88, for a total transaction of $453,154.80. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 14,590 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $596,439.20. The trade was a 43.17 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Vandana Venkatesh sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.79, for a total value of $437,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,459 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $633,159.61. This trade represents a 40.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 49,085 shares of company stock valued at $2,020,895 over the last 90 days. 0.02% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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).