Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Shares Sold by Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado

Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado decreased its position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 3.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 562,566 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after selling 20,468 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado's holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $22,497,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Kirtland Hills Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Verizon Communications by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Kirtland Hills Capital Management LLC now owns 10,968 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $439,000 after buying an additional 252 shares during the period. JB Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. JB Capital LLC now owns 20,816 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $832,000 after purchasing an additional 258 shares during the period. Curbstone Financial Management Corp lifted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Curbstone Financial Management Corp now owns 34,786 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $1,391,000 after purchasing an additional 262 shares during the period. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC increased its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 9.9% in the 4th quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 2,915 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $117,000 after acquiring an additional 263 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tower Wealth Partners Inc. increased its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Tower Wealth Partners Inc. now owns 10,483 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $419,000 after acquiring an additional 263 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 62.06% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Vandana Venkatesh sold 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were 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 owns 14,459 shares of the company's stock, valued at $633,159.61. This represents a 40.88 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Kyle Malady sold 8,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.88, for a total transaction of $319,040.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 6,590 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $262,809.20. This trade represents a 54.83 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 23,000 shares of company stock worth $969,340 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.10% of the company's stock.

Verizon Communications Trading Down 1.6 %

Shares of NYSE:VZ traded down $0.69 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $43.38. 8,641,391 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 20,117,761. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 0.63 and a quick ratio of 0.59. The firm has a market cap of $186.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.49, a P/E/G ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.41. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1 year low of $37.59 and a 1 year high of $47.36. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $43.68 and its 200 day simple moving average is $41.97.

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 analysts' expectations of $33.31 billion. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.80% and a net margin of 12.99%. Equities research analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.6775 per share. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.25%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. Verizon Communications's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 64.52%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on VZ. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Verizon Communications from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $48.00 price target for the company in a research note on Friday, April 11th. DZ Bank upgraded 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 note on Wednesday, January 29th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a "sector perform" rating and issued a $45.00 price objective (up from $42.00) on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Tuesday, March 25th. Wolfe Research lowered shares of Verizon Communications from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. Finally, Tigress Financial boosted their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $55.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday. Nine research 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average 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).