Becker Capital Management Inc. Sells 38,491 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Becker Capital Management Inc. trimmed its position in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 4.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 860,873 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after selling 38,491 shares during the quarter. Verizon Communications makes up about 1.1% of Becker Capital Management Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 26th biggest position. Becker Capital Management Inc.'s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $34,426,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Mainstream Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in 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 in the last quarter. Graney & King LLC bought a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Compass Financial Services Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, Hager Investment Management Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter valued at about $38,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.06% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Verizon Communications news, EVP Vandana Venkatesh sold 10,000 shares of the business's 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 14,459 shares in the company, valued at approximately $633,159.61. The trade was a 40.88 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, 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 transaction of $319,040.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 6,590 shares of the company's stock, valued at $262,809.20. This represents a 54.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 30,500 shares of company stock valued at $1,298,440. Company insiders own 0.10% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VZ has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. DZ Bank raised shares of Verizon Communications from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $40.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Scotiabank raised their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $48.50 to $49.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. TD Cowen raised Verizon Communications to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. StockNews.com lowered Verizon Communications from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. Finally, 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 research report on Friday, January 24th. Nine equities research 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $47.41.

Verizon Communications Trading Up 1.0 %

Verizon Communications stock traded up $0.44 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $43.74. 15,365,211 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 20,156,322. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $43.68 and its 200-day simple moving average is $41.97. The company has a quick ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. The firm has a market capitalization of $187.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.57, a PEG ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.41. Verizon Communications Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $37.59 and a fifty-two week high of $47.36.

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

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, April 10th were paid a $0.6775 dividend. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.20%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 10th. Verizon Communications's payout ratio is presently 64.52%.

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).