Game Creek Capital LP Trims Stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Game Creek Capital LP reduced its stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 7.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 81,000 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after selling 6,500 shares during the period. Verizon Communications makes up approximately 1.3% of Game Creek Capital LP's investment portfolio, making the stock its 20th biggest position. Game Creek Capital LP's holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $3,239,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VZ. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Verizon Communications by 27.7% in the fourth quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 222,366 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $8,892,000 after purchasing an additional 48,294 shares during the period. Roffman Miller Associates Inc. PA grew its holdings in Verizon Communications by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Roffman Miller Associates Inc. PA now owns 382,678 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $15,303,000 after acquiring an additional 6,795 shares during the period. Burney Co. grew its holdings in Verizon Communications by 30.4% during the 4th quarter. Burney Co. now owns 186,621 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $7,463,000 after acquiring an additional 43,472 shares during the period. Global Wealth Management Investment Advisory Inc. acquired a new stake in Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter worth about $4,333,000. Finally, Private Advisor Group LLC grew its holdings in Verizon Communications by 64.6% during the 4th quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 1,394,921 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $55,783,000 after acquiring an additional 547,384 shares during the period. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on VZ. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. TD Cowen raised shares of Verizon Communications to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a "sector perform" rating and set a $45.00 price objective (up previously from $42.00) on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report 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 objective on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Finally, 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 report on Wednesday, January 29th. Nine investment 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $47.41.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

Shares of Verizon Communications stock traded up $0.04 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $43.65. 10,876,975 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 20,162,293. 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 company has a market capitalization of $184.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.54, a P/E/G ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $43.74 and a 200 day simple moving average of $41.98. 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 posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.19 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.15 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $33.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $33.31 billion. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 12.99% and a return on equity of 19.80%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The business 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 was Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.21%. Verizon Communications's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 64.52%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Verizon Communications news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 9,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on 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 now owns 10,008 shares of the company's stock, valued at $441,352.80. The trade was a 47.35% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Vandana Venkatesh sold 10,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.79, for a total transaction of $437,900.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,459 shares in the company, valued at $633,159.61. The trade was a 40.88% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 31,500 shares of company stock valued at $1,376,300. 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).