Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Shares Sold by Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC

Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC trimmed its holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 87.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 121,885 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after selling 828,122 shares during the period. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC's holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $4,874,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Clear Harbor Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 8.0% in the 4th quarter. Clear Harbor Asset Management LLC now owns 12,860 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $514,000 after acquiring an additional 955 shares during the last quarter. Chesley Taft & Associates LLC boosted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. Chesley Taft & Associates LLC now owns 33,949 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $1,358,000 after purchasing an additional 1,093 shares during the period. Atomi Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in Verizon Communications by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. now owns 49,059 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $1,962,000 after purchasing an additional 465 shares during the last quarter. Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH increased its stake in Verizon Communications by 17.5% during the fourth quarter. Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH now owns 1,756,413 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $70,239,000 after purchasing an additional 261,401 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Roberts Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 3.9% during the fourth quarter. Roberts Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 122,240 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $4,667,000 after purchasing an additional 4,588 shares during the period. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

Shares of VZ opened at $43.77 on Thursday. Verizon Communications Inc. has a one year low of $37.59 and a one year high of $47.36. The stock's fifty day moving average is $43.63 and its 200-day moving average is $42.08. 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 $184.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.39.

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, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.15 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $33.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.31 billion. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 12.99% and a return on equity of 19.80%. Equities analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 10th were issued a $0.6775 dividend. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.19%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 10th. Verizon Communications's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 64.52%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. DZ Bank raised shares of Verizon Communications from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $40.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Royal Bank of Canada restated a "sector perform" rating and issued a $45.00 target price (up from $42.00) on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Tuesday, March 25th. Tigress Financial increased their price target on Verizon Communications from $55.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, April 28th. StockNews.com downgraded Verizon Communications from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, March 13th. Finally, Evercore ISI upgraded Verizon Communications from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $48.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $47.41.

Insider Activity at Verizon Communications

In other news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 9,000 shares of the firm's 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 10,008 shares in the company, valued at approximately $441,352.80. This trade represents a 47.35% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Vandana Venkatesh sold 10,000 shares of Verizon Communications stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.79, for a total transaction of $437,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,459 shares in the company, valued at $633,159.61. This represents a 40.88% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 31,500 shares of company stock worth $1,376,300 over the last quarter. 0.10% of the stock is currently 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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