Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC lessened its stake in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 6.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 151,729 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after selling 11,330 shares during the quarter. Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC's holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $6,068,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.
Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 27.7% during the 4th quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 222,366 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $8,892,000 after purchasing an additional 48,294 shares in the last quarter. Roffman Miller Associates Inc. PA boosted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Roffman Miller Associates Inc. PA now owns 382,678 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $15,303,000 after buying an additional 6,795 shares in the last quarter. Global Wealth Management Investment Advisory Inc. purchased a new stake in Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter worth about $4,333,000. Private Advisor Group LLC increased its holdings in Verizon Communications by 64.6% in the fourth quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 1,394,921 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $55,783,000 after buying an additional 547,384 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Axis Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,200,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.06% of the company's stock.
Insider Buying and Selling at Verizon Communications
In other Verizon Communications news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 5,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.48, for a total value of $212,400.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 36,508 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,550,859.84. This trade represents a 12.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Vandana Venkatesh sold 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 14,459 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $633,159.61. The trade was a 40.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 31,500 shares of company stock valued at $1,376,300 over the last three months. 0.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on VZ shares. StockNews.com cut Verizon Communications from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, March 13th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on Verizon Communications from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Scotiabank lifted 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. 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 research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Wolfe Research cut shares of Verizon Communications from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $47.41.
Check Out Our Latest Analysis on Verizon Communications
Verizon Communications Trading Down 0.2%
NYSE VZ traded down $0.10 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $44.21. 12,186,592 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 20,183,470. 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 market capitalization of $186.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.39. The business's 50 day moving average is $43.63 and its 200-day moving average is $42.07. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12-month low of $37.59 and a 12-month high of $47.36.
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, topping the consensus estimate of $1.15 by $0.04. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 12.99% and a return on equity of 19.80%. The business had revenue of $33.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $33.31 billion. As a group, analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Verizon Communications Announces Dividend
The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, April 10th were issued a $0.6775 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.13%. Verizon Communications's payout ratio is 64.52%.
About Verizon Communications
(
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).
Featured Stories
Before you consider Verizon Communications, you'll want to hear this.
MarketBeat keeps track of Wall Street's top-rated and best performing research analysts and the stocks they recommend to their clients on a daily basis. MarketBeat has identified the five stocks that top analysts are quietly whispering to their clients to buy now before the broader market catches on... and Verizon Communications wasn't on the list.
While Verizon Communications currently has a Moderate Buy rating among analysts, top-rated analysts believe these five stocks are better buys.
View The Five Stocks Here
Wondering what the next stocks will be that hit it big, with solid fundamentals? Enter your email address to see which stocks MarketBeat analysts could become the next blockbuster growth stocks.
Get This Free Report
