Ameriprise Financial Inc. Reduces Stock Holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Ameriprise Financial Inc. lowered its stake in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 3.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 16,029,045 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after selling 537,007 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. owned 0.38% of Verizon Communications worth $640,930,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in VZ. Mainstream Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 69.6% in the fourth quarter. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 780 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 320 shares during the last quarter. Graney & King LLC purchased a new stake in Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Compass Financial Services Inc purchased a new position in Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, Hager Investment Management Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter worth $38,000. 62.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Verizon Communications

In other Verizon Communications news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 5,000 shares of Verizon Communications stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.48, for a total transaction of $212,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 36,508 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,550,859.84. This trade represents a 12.05 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Vandana Venkatesh sold 10,000 shares of Verizon Communications stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.79, for a total value of $437,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 14,459 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $633,159.61. This represents a 40.88 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 22,500 shares of company stock valued at $979,400. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

Shares of VZ traded up $0.66 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $44.20. 12,111,417 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 20,135,514. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52 week low of $37.59 and a 52 week high of $47.36. 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 firm has a 50 day moving average of $43.71 and a 200-day moving average of $41.96. The stock has a market cap of $186.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.68, a PEG ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.39.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.15 by $0.04. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.80% and a net margin of 12.99%. The business had revenue of $33.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $33.31 billion. On average, analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 10th were given a $0.6775 dividend. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.13%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 10th. Verizon Communications's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 64.52%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VZ has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. TD Cowen raised Verizon Communications to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Wolfe Research lowered Verizon Communications from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Evercore ISI raised Verizon Communications from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $48.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Scotiabank increased their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $48.50 to $49.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Argus upgraded shares of Verizon Communications to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $47.41.

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).