Sfmg LLC Has $4.71 Million Stock Position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Sfmg LLC trimmed its holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 2.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 124,995 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 2,989 shares during the quarter. Sfmg LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $4,712,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of VZ. Sloy Dahl & Holst LLC lifted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 11.7% in the 4th quarter. Sloy Dahl & Holst LLC now owns 20,593 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $776,000 after acquiring an additional 2,155 shares during the period. Scissortail Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 26.1% in the fourth quarter. Scissortail Wealth Management LLC now owns 122,525 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $4,619,000 after purchasing an additional 25,382 shares in the last quarter. Tyche Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter worth $835,000. Financial Strategies Group Inc. increased its holdings in Verizon Communications by 14.0% in the 4th quarter. Financial Strategies Group Inc. now owns 120,235 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $4,963,000 after buying an additional 14,754 shares during the period. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 2,170,563 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $81,830,000 after buying an additional 14,954 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

Shares of Verizon Communications stock traded down $0.34 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $39.77. The company had a trading volume of 14,016,776 shares, compared to its average volume of 16,262,630. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $40.55 and a 200 day simple moving average of $38.16. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1-year low of $30.14 and a 1-year high of $43.42. The company has a current ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47. The company has a market capitalization of $167.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.27 and a beta of 0.41.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 23rd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.08. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 20.71% and a net margin of 8.67%. The business had revenue of $35.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.60 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.19 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down .6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 10th will be paid a $0.665 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 9th. This represents a $2.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.69%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 96.38%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VZ has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. KeyCorp upped their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. Wolfe Research raised Verizon Communications from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $46.00 target price for the company in a report on Thursday, January 4th. Raymond James boosted their price target on Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $48.00 price objective on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Finally, UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $37.00 to $43.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $44.50.

Insider Buying and Selling at Verizon Communications

In related news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 24,000 shares of Verizon Communications stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.80, for a total transaction of $979,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 35,201 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,436,200.80. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

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).