Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Holdings Cut by NewEdge Wealth LLC

NewEdge Wealth LLC reduced its stake in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 52.3% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 38,379 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 42,036 shares during the period. NewEdge Wealth LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $1,535,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new position in Verizon Communications in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Verizon Communications by 69.6% during the 4th quarter. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 780 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 320 shares during the period. Compass Financial Services Inc bought a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter worth $33,000. Hager Investment Management Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter valued at $38,000. Finally, Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 655.5% during the fourth quarter. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 967 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 839 shares in the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Verizon Communications Stock Down 0.4 %

VZ stock opened at $43.12 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 0.63 and a quick ratio of 0.59. The firm has a market capitalization of $181.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.41, a P/E/G ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.45. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52-week low of $37.58 and a 52-week high of $45.36. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $40.20 and its 200-day simple moving average is $41.71.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last announced its 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 net margin of 12.99% and a return on equity of 19.80%. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.08 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed 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 yield of 6.29%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is currently 65.46%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 8,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.88, for a total transaction of $319,040.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 6,590 shares in the company, valued at approximately $262,809.20. This trade represents a 54.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Vandana Venkatesh sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.79, for a total transaction of $437,900.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,459 shares in the company, valued at $633,159.61. The trade was a 40.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 49,085 shares of company stock worth $2,020,895. 0.02% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on VZ. Wolfe Research increased 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. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted 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. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price target on Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $42.00 in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Finally, DZ Bank raised Verizon Communications from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $40.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus 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).