Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Shares Sold by Nuveen Asset Management LLC

Nuveen Asset Management LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 1.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 15,233,501 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after selling 210,792 shares during the period. Nuveen Asset Management LLC owned about 0.36% of Verizon Communications worth $609,188,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in VZ. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter valued at about $2,300,846,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter valued at about $1,083,337,000. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. boosted its position in Verizon Communications by 3,601.6% during the fourth quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. now owns 8,937,180 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $357,398,000 after buying an additional 8,695,736 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in Verizon Communications by 7.3% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 108,694,230 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $4,346,682,000 after buying an additional 7,421,148 shares during the period. Finally, Capital Research Global Investors boosted its position in Verizon Communications by 52.7% during the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 19,828,378 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $792,937,000 after buying an additional 6,846,514 shares during the period. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Verizon Communications news, EVP Vandana Venkatesh sold 10,000 shares of the 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,459 shares of the company's stock, valued at $633,159.61. This trade represents a 40.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Kyle Malady sold 5,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.48, for a total transaction of $212,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 36,508 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,550,859.84. This represents a 12.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 31,500 shares of company stock valued at $1,376,300. Corporate insiders own 0.10% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on VZ. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Verizon Communications from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $48.00 target price for the company in a report on Friday, April 11th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a "sector perform" rating and set a $45.00 target price (up from $42.00) on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. Scotiabank increased 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, DZ Bank upgraded 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. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $47.41.

Verizon Communications Trading Up 1.1%

Verizon Communications stock traded up $0.49 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $43.97. The company had a trading volume of 13,389,383 shares, compared to its average volume of 20,168,938. The firm has a market cap of $185.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.62, a P/E/G ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a current ratio of 0.63. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1 year low of $37.59 and a 1 year high of $47.36. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $43.57 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $42.01.

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

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 10th were paid a $0.6775 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.16%. Verizon Communications's payout ratio is currently 64.52%.

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).