Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Stake Lessened by Csenge Advisory Group

Csenge Advisory Group lessened its stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 5.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 48,271 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 2,925 shares during the period. Csenge Advisory Group’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $1,930,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Austin Private Wealth LLC raised its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 3.0% in the third quarter. Austin Private Wealth LLC now owns 8,450 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $379,000 after buying an additional 243 shares during the last quarter. Cary Street Partners Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 3.4% in the third quarter. Cary Street Partners Asset Management LLC now owns 7,628 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $343,000 after buying an additional 249 shares during the last quarter. Western Financial Corp CA raised its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 1.5% in the third quarter. Western Financial Corp CA now owns 17,491 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $786,000 after buying an additional 250 shares during the last quarter. First Personal Financial Services raised its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 0.3% in the third quarter. First Personal Financial Services now owns 91,092 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $4,091,000 after buying an additional 250 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Encompass Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 2.0% in the third quarter. Encompass Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 12,505 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $562,000 after buying an additional 250 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. TD Cowen raised Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Scotiabank boosted their price objective on Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $47.50 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Wolfe Research boosted their price objective on Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on Verizon Communications in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $48.00 price objective for the company. Finally, DZ Bank raised Verizon Communications from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $40.00 price objective for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $46.08.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

Shares of VZ opened at $41.00 on Monday. 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 50 day simple moving average of $39.94 and a 200 day simple moving average of $41.57. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52-week low of $37.58 and a 52-week high of $45.36. The firm has a market capitalization of $172.59 billion, a PE ratio of 9.90, a P/E/G ratio of 4.17 and a beta of 0.45.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 period last year, the business earned $1.08 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 10th were paid a $0.6775 dividend. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.61%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 10th. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is 65.46%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Verizon Communications

In other Verizon Communications news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 8,000 shares of the business’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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 6,590 shares in the company, valued at approximately $262,809.20. The trade was a 54.83 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 39,085 shares of company stock worth $1,582,995. Corporate insiders own 0.02% of the company’s stock.

About Verizon Communications

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).