Applied Finance Capital Management LLC Sells 387,582 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Key Points

• Applied Finance Capital Management LLC reduced its stake in Verizon Communications by 35.5%, selling 387,582 shares, leaving it with a total of 704,376 shares valued at approximately $31.95 million.
• Several institutional investors significantly increased their holdings in Verizon, with **Pacer Advisors Inc.** purchasing an additional **10.3 million shares**, boosting their stake by **737.5%**.
• Verizon's CEO, Kyle Malady, sold 9,000 shares of the company stock, resulting in a **47.35%** decrease in his ownership, following which he held shares valued at approximately $441,352.80.

Applied Finance Capital Management LLC cut its stake in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 35.5% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 704,376 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after selling 387,582 shares during the quarter. Verizon Communications makes up approximately 2.4% of Applied Finance Capital Management LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 8th biggest position. Applied Finance Capital Management LLC's holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $31,950,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 737.5% in the 1st quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 11,697,003 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $530,576,000 after purchasing an additional 10,300,369 shares during the period. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. lifted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 3,601.6% in the 4th quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. now owns 8,937,180 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $357,398,000 after purchasing an additional 8,695,736 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 52.7% in the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 19,828,378 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $792,937,000 after purchasing an additional 6,846,514 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 12.4% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 45,043,310 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $1,801,282,000 after purchasing an additional 4,951,733 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 13.3% in the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 38,893,487 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $1,555,351,000 after purchasing an additional 4,568,518 shares during the period. 62.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 9,000 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief executive officer owned 10,008 shares of the company's stock, valued at $441,352.80. This represents a 47.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Scotiabank upped their price target on Verizon Communications from $48.50 to $49.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Wall Street Zen raised Verizon Communications from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday. Bank of America boosted their price objective on Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $47.35.

Verizon Communications Trading Up 0.0%

Shares of VZ stock opened at $43.10 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a current ratio of 0.64. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52-week low of $37.58 and a 52-week high of $47.35. The company has a market capitalization of $181.70 billion, a PE ratio of 10.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.33 and a beta of 0.37. The business's fifty day moving average is $42.86 and its 200 day moving average is $42.51.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 21st. The cell phone carrier reported $1.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.19 by $0.03. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.61% and a net margin of 13.28%. The company had revenue of $34.50 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $33.47 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.15 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, July 10th will be paid a $0.6775 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 10th. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.29%. Verizon Communications's dividend payout ratio is presently 63.17%.

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).

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