Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Shares Sold by Empirical Finance LLC

Empirical Finance LLC cut its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 1.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 142,608 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 1,930 shares during the period. Empirical Finance LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $5,703,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. AMF Tjanstepension AB lifted its stake in Verizon Communications by 58.0% in the 3rd quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 1,756,452 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $78,975,000 after buying an additional 644,761 shares in the last quarter. Alpha Financial Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $224,000. Watts Gwilliam & Co. LLC acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $481,000. Beaumont Financial Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 13.7% during the 3rd quarter. Beaumont Financial Advisors LLC now owns 5,859 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $263,000 after purchasing an additional 705 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fermata Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 4.5% in the third quarter. Fermata Advisors LLC now owns 5,626 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $253,000 after acquiring an additional 243 shares during the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Verizon Communications Trading Down 0.2 %

NYSE:VZ opened at $39.88 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $40.18 and its two-hundred day moving average is $41.53. The firm has a market capitalization of $167.86 billion, a PE ratio of 9.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.17 and a beta of 0.45. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12 month low of $37.58 and a 12 month high of $45.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 0.63 and a quick ratio of 0.59.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last posted its earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.11 by ($0.01). Verizon Communications had a net margin of 12.99% and a return on equity of 19.80%. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.08 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 10th were given a dividend of $0.6775 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 10th. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.80%. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is currently 65.46%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VZ has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Argus raised Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their target price on Verizon Communications from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. KeyCorp lowered Verizon Communications from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. UBS Group upped their price objective on Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective on Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $42.00 in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Ten investment 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’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $46.08.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 8,000 shares of Verizon Communications stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.88, for a total transaction of $319,040.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 6,590 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $262,809.20. The trade was a 54.83 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Over the last three months, insiders sold 39,085 shares of company stock worth $1,582,995. 0.02% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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).