Total Clarity Wealth Management Inc. Sells 1,314 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Total Clarity Wealth Management Inc. lowered its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 3.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 41,946 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 1,314 shares during the quarter. Total Clarity Wealth Management Inc.’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $1,677,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. SimpliFi Inc. increased its stake in Verizon Communications by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. SimpliFi Inc. now owns 28,468 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,138,000 after buying an additional 281 shares during the period. Clear Creek Financial Management LLC increased its stake in Verizon Communications by 11.9% in the 4th quarter. Clear Creek Financial Management LLC now owns 38,109 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,524,000 after buying an additional 4,062 shares during the period. Heck Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter worth about $154,000. Austin Private Wealth LLC increased its position in Verizon Communications by 17.7% during the 4th quarter. Austin Private Wealth LLC now owns 9,946 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $398,000 after purchasing an additional 1,496 shares during the period. Finally, New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in Verizon Communications by 9.8% during the 4th quarter. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 21,939 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $877,000 after purchasing an additional 1,954 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other Verizon Communications news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.54, for a total value of $810,800.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 45,675 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,851,664.50. This represents a 30.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.02% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

NYSE:VZ opened at $39.41 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $165.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.21 and a beta of 0.46. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $40.69 and a 200-day moving average price of $41.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 0.63 and a quick ratio of 0.59. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1-year low of $37.58 and a 1-year high of $45.36.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.08 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 10th will be given 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 6.88%. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is 65.46%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VZ has been the topic of a number of research reports. Wolfe Research raised their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $51.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $42.00 in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Scotiabank raised their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $47.50 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $48.00 price target on the stock. Ten research 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’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $46.08.

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).