Jennison Associates LLC Sells 719,578 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Jennison Associates LLC reduced its stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 98.0% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 14,959 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after selling 719,578 shares during the quarter. Jennison Associates LLC's holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $679,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of VZ. BridgePort Financial Solutions LLC bought a new position in Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter worth $381,000. Meyer Handelman Co. raised its stake in Verizon Communications by 7.4% during the first quarter. Meyer Handelman Co. now owns 1,110,948 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $50,393,000 after buying an additional 76,083 shares during the last quarter. Rempart Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in Verizon Communications by 52.8% in the first quarter. Rempart Asset Management Inc. now owns 310,390 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $14,079,000 after purchasing an additional 107,200 shares in the last quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina increased its stake in Verizon Communications by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 2,075,431 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $82,996,000 after purchasing an additional 20,610 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Welch Group LLC increased its stake in Verizon Communications by 5.9% in the first quarter. Welch Group LLC now owns 1,137,904 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $51,126,000 after purchasing an additional 63,474 shares in the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

NYSE VZ opened at $42.40 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $42.88 and a two-hundred day moving average of $42.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 0.61 and a quick ratio of 0.58. The company has a market cap of $178.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.10, a P/E/G ratio of 3.28 and a beta of 0.37. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1-year low of $37.59 and a 1-year high of $47.36.

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 for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.19 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $34.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $33.47 billion. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.66% and a net margin of 13.14%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.15 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 1st. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 6.39%. Verizon Communications's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 64.52%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently issued reports on VZ shares. Morgan Stanley started coverage on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. They issued an "equal weight" rating and a $47.00 price target on the stock. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Monday, July 7th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $45.00 target price on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised shares of Verizon Communications from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $48.00 target price on the stock in a report on Friday, April 11th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $47.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 9,000 shares of Verizon Communications 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 transaction, the chief executive officer owned 10,008 shares in the company, valued at approximately $441,352.80. This trade represents a 47.35% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 21,500 shares of company stock worth $938,400. 0.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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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