Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Shares Sold by Windsor Capital Management LLC

Windsor Capital Management LLC lowered its stake in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 7.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 5,090 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 424 shares during the period. Windsor Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $204,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the third quarter valued at $31,000. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. grew its position in Verizon Communications by 69.6% in the 4th quarter. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 780 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 320 shares in the last quarter. Accordant Advisory Group Inc increased its stake in Verizon Communications by 137.6% during the third quarter. Accordant Advisory Group Inc now owns 777 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 450 shares during the period. Hager Investment Management Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter worth about $38,000. Finally, Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 655.5% in the fourth quarter. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 967 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 839 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Verizon Communications

In other news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 8,000 shares of the company’s 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 6,590 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $262,809.20. This represents a 54.83 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 39,085 shares of company stock valued at $1,582,995. 0.03% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

NYSE VZ opened at $39.88 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $40.27 and its 200 day moving average price is $41.52. The company has a quick ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. The firm has a market cap of $167.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.63, a P/E/G ratio of 4.11 and a beta of 0.45. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52-week low of $37.58 and a 52-week high of $45.36.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.10 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.11 by ($0.01). Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.80% and a net margin of 12.99%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.08 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Cuts Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on VZ shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price on Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $42.00 in a report on Friday, January 24th. Argus raised Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $48.00 target price on the stock. Finally, DZ Bank raised shares of Verizon Communications from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $40.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Ten 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. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $46.08.

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).