Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Shares Sold by Insight 2811 Inc.

Insight 2811 Inc. trimmed its position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 1.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 12,934 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 250 shares during the period. Insight 2811 Inc.’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $517,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in Verizon Communications by 27.7% in the fourth quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 222,366 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $8,892,000 after purchasing an additional 48,294 shares during the last quarter. Roffman Miller Associates Inc. PA grew its holdings in Verizon Communications by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Roffman Miller Associates Inc. PA now owns 382,678 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $15,303,000 after buying an additional 6,795 shares during the period. Kestra Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Verizon Communications in the 3rd quarter valued at about $3,376,000. Burney Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 30.4% during the 4th quarter. Burney Co. now owns 186,621 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $7,463,000 after acquiring an additional 43,472 shares during the period. Finally, Benjamin Edwards Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 1,934.5% during the 3rd quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 1,080,015 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $48,503,000 after acquiring an additional 1,026,930 shares during the period. 62.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Verizon Communications Trading Down 0.9 %

VZ opened at $43.59 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $41.63 and its 200-day moving average is $42.02. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52-week low of $37.59 and a 52-week high of $47.36. The company has a quick ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. The firm has a market capitalization of $183.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.53, a P/E/G ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.41.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.10 earnings per share (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 quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.08 EPS. Analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, April 10th will be paid a $0.6775 dividend. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.22%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 65.46%.

Insider Activity at Verizon Communications

In other Verizon Communications news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, January 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.54, for a total transaction of $810,800.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 45,675 shares in the company, valued at $1,851,664.50. This represents a 30.45 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Vandana Venkatesh sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.79, for a total transaction 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. The trade was a 40.88 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 49,085 shares of company stock valued at $2,020,895. Insiders own 0.02% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VZ has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $48.00 price target for the company. UBS Group upped their price objective on Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price on Verizon Communications from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. DZ Bank upgraded Verizon Communications from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $40.00 price target for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Wolfe Research lowered Verizon Communications from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $46.53.

Verizon Communications Company 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).