Greenline Partners LLC Sells 31,377 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Greenline Partners LLC trimmed its holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 56.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 24,416 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after selling 31,377 shares during the quarter. Greenline Partners LLC's holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $976,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in VZ. Mainstream Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Graney & King LLC purchased a new position in Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Compass Financial Services Inc purchased a new position in Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. Banque Transatlantique SA purchased a new position in Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter valued at $35,000. Finally, Hager Investment Management Services LLC purchased a new position in Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter valued at $38,000. 62.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, 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 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Kyle Malady sold 9,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 7th. The stock was 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 directly owns 10,008 shares in the company, valued at $441,352.80. This trade represents a 47.35% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 31,500 shares of company stock worth $1,376,300. Company insiders own 0.10% of the company's stock.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

NYSE VZ traded up $0.04 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $43.65. 10,876,975 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 20,162,293. The business's fifty day moving average price is $43.74 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $41.98. The company has a current ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. The firm 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. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52 week low of $37.59 and a 52 week high of $47.36.

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 the consensus estimate of $1.15 by $0.04. The company 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 research analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 10th were paid a dividend of $0.6775 per share. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.21%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 10th. Verizon Communications's payout ratio is 64.52%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently commented on the stock. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Tigress Financial lifted their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $55.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, April 28th. DZ Bank raised shares of Verizon Communications from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $40.00 target price for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Scotiabank lifted their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $48.50 to $49.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, TD Cowen raised shares of Verizon Communications to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Verizon Communications presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $47.41.

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).