Conning Inc. Cuts Stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Conning Inc. reduced its stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 11.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 37,270 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 4,698 shares during the quarter. Conning Inc.’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $1,490,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Joel Isaacson & Co. LLC increased its holdings in Verizon Communications by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Joel Isaacson & Co. LLC now owns 44,286 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,771,000 after acquiring an additional 939 shares in the last quarter. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. lifted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 17.1% in the fourth quarter. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. now owns 8,354 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $334,000 after buying an additional 1,221 shares in the last quarter. Appleton Partners Inc. MA increased its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 19.1% in the fourth quarter. Appleton Partners Inc. MA now owns 9,138 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $365,000 after purchasing an additional 1,468 shares during the last quarter. Lecap Asset Management Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,002,000. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,058,000. 62.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Verizon Communications Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE:VZ opened at $39.88 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 market capitalization of $167.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.63, a PEG ratio of 4.11 and a beta of 0.45. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1-year low of $37.58 and a 1-year high of $45.36. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $40.27 and a 200 day moving average price of $41.52.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 19.80% and a net margin of 12.99%. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.08 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 10th were issued a dividend of $0.6775 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 10th. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.80%. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is presently 65.46%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Verizon Communications

In other news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 45,675 shares in the company, valued at $1,851,664.50. The trade was a 30.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 39,085 shares of company stock valued at $1,582,995. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently issued reports on VZ shares. Wolfe Research raised their price objective on Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Scotiabank raised their target price 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. Tigress Financial restated a “buy” rating and set a $55.00 target price on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, KeyCorp downgraded Verizon Communications from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $46.08.

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).