Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Shares Sold by Hussman Strategic Advisors Inc.

Hussman Strategic Advisors Inc. lessened its stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 64.3% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 52,500 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after selling 94,500 shares during the quarter. Hussman Strategic Advisors Inc.'s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $2,381,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 1.6% in 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 purchasing an additional 5,697,337 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 1.0% in 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 acquiring an additional 998,847 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter valued at $2,300,846,000. Northern Trust Corp raised 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 acquiring an additional 4,951,733 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised 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 acquiring an additional 4,568,518 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.06% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Verizon Communications news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 9,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.10, for a total transaction of $396,900.00. Following the sale, 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 21,500 shares of company stock worth $938,400. 0.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

Shares of VZ stock traded up $0.01 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $40.96. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,643,456 shares, compared to its average volume of 21,890,684. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1-year low of $37.58 and a 1-year high of $47.35. The company has a market cap of $172.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.75, a PEG ratio of 3.31 and a beta of 0.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a current ratio of 0.61. The firm's 50-day moving average is $42.94 and its two-hundred day moving average is $42.40.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.15 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $33.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $33.31 billion. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 13.14% and a return on equity of 19.66%. On average, research analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.6775 per share. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.62%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 10th. Verizon Communications's dividend payout ratio is currently 64.52%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Tigress Financial raised their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $55.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Scotiabank lifted their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $48.50 to $49.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating and set a $45.00 price target (up previously from $42.00) on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Tuesday, March 25th. Evercore ISI raised shares of Verizon Communications from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $48.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Bank of America started coverage on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Monday, July 7th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $45.00 price target on the stock. 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 MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $47.00.

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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