Freedom Together Foundation Sells 27,000 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Freedom Together Foundation cut its holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 79.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 7,087 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after selling 27,000 shares during the period. Verizon Communications accounts for approximately 0.0% of Freedom Together Foundation's portfolio, making the stock its 22nd biggest holding. Freedom Together Foundation's holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $283,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in VZ. Mainstream Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Graney & King LLC acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. Compass Financial Services Inc acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. Banque Transatlantique SA acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter worth approximately $35,000. Finally, Hager Investment Management Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter worth approximately $38,000. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Verizon Communications

In other news, EVP Vandana Venkatesh sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.79, for a total value of $437,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 14,459 shares in the company, valued at $633,159.61. This trade represents a 40.88% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Kyle Malady sold 7,500 shares of Verizon Communications stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.88, for a total value of $329,100.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 19,008 shares of the company's stock, valued at $834,071.04. The trade was a 28.29% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 31,500 shares of company stock valued at $1,376,300 in the last 90 days. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently commented on VZ shares. Scotiabank boosted their target price on Verizon Communications from $48.50 to $49.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Argus upgraded shares of Verizon Communications to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a "sector perform" rating and set a $45.00 price target (up previously from $42.00) on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Tuesday, March 25th. Oppenheimer upped their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. Finally, Wolfe Research downgraded Verizon Communications from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Verizon Communications presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $47.41.

Verizon Communications Trading Down 0.9%

Verizon Communications stock traded down $0.37 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $42.28. 8,494,117 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 20,112,464. The firm has a market capitalization of $178.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.21, a PEG ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.39. Verizon Communications Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $37.59 and a fifty-two week high of $47.36. The company has a quick ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $43.71 and its 200-day simple moving average is $42.00.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.19 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.15 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $33.50 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $33.31 billion. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.80% and a net margin of 12.99%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 10th were paid a $0.6775 dividend. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.41%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 10th. Verizon Communications's dividend payout ratio is 64.52%.

Verizon Communications Company 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).