Moors & Cabot Inc. Sells 9,937 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Moors & Cabot Inc. trimmed its position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 5.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 186,167 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 9,937 shares during the period. Moors & Cabot Inc.’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $7,445,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Cascade Financial Partners LLC bought a new position in Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter valued at $219,000. Natural Investments LLC acquired a new stake in Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter worth $463,000. Cooke & Bieler LP raised its stake in Verizon Communications by 17.2% during the 4th quarter. Cooke & Bieler LP now owns 2,676,962 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $107,052,000 after buying an additional 393,809 shares during the period. Fairway Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter valued at about $170,000. Finally, Avantax Planning Partners Inc. raised its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Avantax Planning Partners Inc. now owns 194,656 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $7,784,000 after purchasing an additional 2,973 shares during the period. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

Shares of VZ opened at $43.51 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $183.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.41. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $40.82 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $41.89. The company has a current ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12 month low of $37.59 and a 12 month high of $47.36.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 19.80% and a net margin of 12.99%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.08 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be given a dividend of $0.6775 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.23%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 65.46%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VZ has been the topic of several recent research reports. Argus raised Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Wolfe Research lifted their target price on Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $51.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on Verizon Communications in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $48.00 target price on the stock. UBS Group lifted their target price on Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, DZ Bank upgraded Verizon Communications from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $40.00 price target for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $46.11.

Insider Transactions at Verizon Communications

In related news, EVP Vandana Venkatesh sold 10,000 shares of the company’s 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 sale, 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Kyle Malady sold 11,085 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.88, for a total transaction of $453,154.80. Following the completion of the sale, 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 49,085 shares of company stock valued at $2,020,895 in the last 90 days. 0.02% of the stock is currently owned by corporate 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).