CoreCap Advisors LLC trimmed its holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 53.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 22,253 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after selling 25,943 shares during the quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC's holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $890,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.
Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Verizon Communications by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 363,824,525 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $14,549,343,000 after buying an additional 5,697,337 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 7.3% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 108,694,230 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $4,346,682,000 after purchasing an additional 7,421,148 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Verizon Communications by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 96,823,092 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $3,862,441,000 after purchasing an additional 998,847 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter worth about $2,300,846,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in Verizon Communications by 12.4% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 45,043,310 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $1,801,282,000 after purchasing an additional 4,951,733 shares during the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
Verizon Communications Stock Performance
VZ stock traded up $0.04 during trading on Friday, reaching $43.65. The company had a trading volume of 10,876,975 shares, compared to its average volume of 20,162,293. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a current ratio of 0.63. Verizon Communications Inc. has a twelve month low of $37.59 and a twelve month high of $47.36. The company has a market cap of $184.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.39. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $43.74 and a 200-day simple moving average of $41.98.
Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $33.50 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $33.31 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current year.
Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement
The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, April 10th were issued a dividend of $0.6775 per share. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.21%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 10th. Verizon Communications's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 64.52%.
Insider Activity at Verizon Communications
In other news, EVP Vandana Venkatesh sold 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 $633,159.61. This represents a 40.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Kyle Malady sold 9,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.10, for a total value of $396,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 10,008 shares in the company, valued at approximately $441,352.80. This represents a 47.35 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 31,500 shares of company stock worth $1,376,300 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.10% of the company's stock.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on VZ shares. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a "sector perform" rating and issued a $45.00 price target (up from $42.00) on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. TD Cowen upgraded Verizon Communications to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Tigress Financial upped their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $55.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, April 28th. DZ Bank raised shares of Verizon Communications from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $40.00 price target for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Scotiabank raised their price objective on Verizon Communications from $48.50 to $49.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $47.41.
Read Our Latest Stock Report on Verizon Communications
Verizon Communications Company Profile
(
Free Report)
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).
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