Capital World Investors Lowers Holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Capital World Investors lowered its holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 3.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 21,927,138 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 851,664 shares during the quarter. Capital World Investors owned 0.52% of Verizon Communications worth $876,866,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Mainstream Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 69.6% during the 4th quarter. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 780 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 320 shares during the period. Graney & King LLC acquired a new stake in Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Compass Financial Services Inc purchased a new stake in Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, Hager Investment Management Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter worth $38,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Vandana Venkatesh sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 trade represents a 40.88 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Kyle Malady sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.54, for a total transaction of $810,800.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 45,675 shares in the company, valued at $1,851,664.50. The trade was a 30.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 49,085 shares of company stock valued at $2,020,895 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.02% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Tigress Financial restated a “buy” rating and set a $55.00 target price on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Wolfe Research downgraded shares of Verizon Communications from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. TD Cowen upgraded shares of Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $45.00 target price (up from $42.00) on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on Verizon Communications from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $46.92.

Verizon Communications Stock Up 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE:VZ opened at $44.01 on Friday. 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 stock has a market cap of $185.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.63, 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 has a fifty day moving average price of $43.46 and a 200 day moving average price of $42.01.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.10 earnings per share (EPS) 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 period last year, the firm posted $1.08 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be given a dividend of $0.6775 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.16%. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is currently 65.46%.

About Verizon Communications

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).