Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Stake Cut by Ranch Capital Advisors Inc.

Ranch Capital Advisors Inc. reduced its holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 9.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 59,254 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 6,145 shares during the period. Verizon Communications comprises about 1.1% of Ranch Capital Advisors Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 25th largest holding. Ranch Capital Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $2,370,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Independent Advisor Alliance lifted its stake in Verizon Communications by 9.8% in the 4th quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 197,916 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $7,915,000 after acquiring an additional 17,691 shares in the last quarter. Paragon Private Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Verizon Communications by 4.7% in the 4th quarter. Paragon Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,746 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $390,000 after acquiring an additional 438 shares in the last quarter. Tower Wealth Partners Inc. lifted its stake in Verizon Communications by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Tower Wealth Partners Inc. now owns 10,483 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $419,000 after acquiring an additional 263 shares in the last quarter. Gallagher Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter worth about $1,776,000. Finally, Moran Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Verizon Communications by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Moran Wealth Management LLC now owns 82,700 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $3,307,000 after purchasing an additional 1,389 shares during the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. Wolfe Research upped their target price on Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. TD Cowen raised Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $42.00 in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on Verizon Communications in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $48.00 target price for the company. Finally, DZ Bank upgraded Verizon Communications from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $40.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $46.11.

Verizon Communications Trading Up 4.3 %

NYSE VZ opened at $46.13 on Monday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $40.61 and a 200 day simple moving average of $41.84. The company has a market capitalization of $194.20 billion, a PE ratio of 11.14, a P/E/G ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a current ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12 month low of $37.59 and a 12 month high of $46.20.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last announced its quarterly 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 return on equity of 19.80% and a net margin of 12.99%. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.08 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be given a dividend of $0.6775 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.87%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is currently 65.46%.

Insider Transactions at Verizon Communications

In other news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 8,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.88, for a total value of $319,040.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 6,590 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $262,809.20. This trade represents a 54.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Vandana Venkatesh sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.79, for a total value of $437,900.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 14,459 shares in the company, valued at approximately $633,159.61. This trade represents a 40.88 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 49,085 shares of company stock valued at $2,020,895 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.02% of the company’s stock.

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).