Costello Asset Management INC Lowers Position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Costello Asset Management INC cut its holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 2.7% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 10,770 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 300 shares during the quarter. Costello Asset Management INC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $431,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Independence Bank of Kentucky increased its position in Verizon Communications by 27.6% during the fourth quarter. Independence Bank of Kentucky now owns 41,237 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $1,649,000 after acquiring an additional 8,920 shares during the last quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 37.8% during the 4th quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 20,842 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $833,000 after purchasing an additional 5,718 shares during the period. Concord Wealth Partners lifted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 9.7% in the fourth quarter. Concord Wealth Partners now owns 29,755 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $1,190,000 after acquiring an additional 2,632 shares in the last quarter. Concord Asset Management LLC VA boosted its stake in Verizon Communications by 14.6% in the 4th quarter. Concord Asset Management LLC VA now owns 20,418 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $817,000 after purchasing an additional 2,599 shares during the period. Finally, Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 10.8% during the fourth quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 34,326 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,337,000 after acquiring an additional 3,345 shares during the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, 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 transaction of $453,154.80. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 14,590 shares in the company, valued at $596,439.20. This trade represents a 43.17 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.02% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently issued reports on VZ. Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $48.00 price target on the stock. Wolfe Research raised their price target on Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $51.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. KeyCorp cut Verizon Communications from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $42.00 in a report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Verizon Communications from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $46.08.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:VZ opened at $39.41 on Friday. Verizon Communications Inc. has a one year low of $37.58 and a one year high of $45.36. The stock has a market cap of $165.88 billion, a PE ratio of 9.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.21 and a beta of 0.46. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $40.61 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $41.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a current ratio of 0.63.

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 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 company earned $1.08 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 10th will be given a $0.6775 dividend. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.88%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 10th. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is currently 65.46%.

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).