HighPoint Advisor Group LLC Sells 5,692 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

HighPoint Advisor Group LLC lessened its stake in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 3.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 146,520 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 5,692 shares during the quarter. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $5,930,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 12.7% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 10,450,058 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $417,897,000 after acquiring an additional 1,177,478 shares in the last quarter. Boston Research & Management Inc. increased its holdings in Verizon Communications by 4.1% in the 4th quarter. Boston Research & Management Inc. now owns 106,500 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $4,258,000 after purchasing an additional 4,154 shares in the last quarter. Summit Financial LLC raised its position in Verizon Communications by 41.0% in the fourth quarter. Summit Financial LLC now owns 69,525 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $2,780,000 after purchasing an additional 20,214 shares during the last quarter. Bedell Frazier Investment Counselling LLC boosted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 3.4% during the fourth quarter. Bedell Frazier Investment Counselling LLC now owns 108,751 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $4,349,000 after purchasing an additional 3,532 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Edmond DE Rothschild Holding S.A. grew its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Edmond DE Rothschild Holding S.A. now owns 5,061,647 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $202,415,000 after purchasing an additional 78,464 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Verizon Communications

In related news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 11,085 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.88, for a total value of $453,154.80. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 14,590 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $596,439.20. This trade represents a 43.17 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Vandana Venkatesh sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 14,459 shares in the company, valued at $633,159.61. This represents a 40.88 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 49,085 shares of company stock worth $2,020,895. 0.02% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

Shares of VZ stock opened at $44.96 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $42.11 and a 200-day moving average of $42.07. The company has a market cap of $189.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a quick ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52 week low of $37.59 and a 52 week high of $47.36.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 24th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.10 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 quarter last year, the business posted $1.08 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, April 10th will be given a $0.6775 dividend. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.03%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is currently 65.46%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VZ has been the subject of a number of research reports. Tigress Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $55.00 price objective on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Thursday, January 30th. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Verizon Communications from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 13th. TD Cowen upgraded Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Finally, DZ Bank raised Verizon Communications from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $40.00 target price on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $46.71.

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).