Mine & Arao Wealth Creation & Management LLC. Sells 804 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Mine & Arao Wealth Creation & Management LLC. cut its holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 8.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 8,491 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 804 shares during the quarter. Mine & Arao Wealth Creation & Management LLC.’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $340,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in VZ. Quarry LP lifted its position in Verizon Communications by 57.2% during the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 2,303 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $95,000 after purchasing an additional 838 shares during the period. Greater Midwest Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in Verizon Communications in the second quarter valued at approximately $207,000. Abacus Planning Group Inc. boosted its stake in Verizon Communications by 5.5% in the third quarter. Abacus Planning Group Inc. now owns 15,958 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $717,000 after acquiring an additional 832 shares during the last quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV grew its holdings in Verizon Communications by 3.3% during the 3rd quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 457,629 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $20,552,000 after acquiring an additional 14,518 shares during the period. Finally, AMF Tjanstepension AB raised its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 58.0% during the 3rd quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 1,756,452 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $78,975,000 after acquiring an additional 644,761 shares during the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE VZ opened at $39.47 on Friday. 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 stock has a 50 day moving average price of $40.75 and a 200 day moving average price of $41.60. The stock has a market capitalization of $166.13 billion, a PE ratio of 9.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.21 and a beta of 0.46. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52 week low of $37.58 and a 52 week high of $45.36.

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 quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.08 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.6775 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 10th. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.87%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is presently 65.46%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VZ has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Wolfe Research lifted their price objective on Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. StockNews.com cut shares of Verizon Communications from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price on Verizon Communications from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on Verizon Communications in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $48.00 price target for the company. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price objective on Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $46.08.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, January 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.54, for a total value of $810,800.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 45,675 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,851,664.50. This represents a 30.45 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.02% of the stock is owned by 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).