Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Shares Sold by Saturna Capital Corp

Saturna Capital Corp cut its stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 3.4% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 7,410 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 260 shares during the quarter. Saturna Capital Corp’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $296,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Verizon Communications by 7.3% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 108,694,230 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $4,346,682,000 after purchasing an additional 7,421,148 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Verizon Communications by 2.2% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 95,824,245 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $4,289,054,000 after purchasing an additional 2,081,241 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 2.0% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 29,074,297 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $1,305,727,000 after buying an additional 565,842 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter worth $1,083,337,000. Finally, Amundi boosted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 32.3% in the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 25,227,069 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $983,445,000 after buying an additional 6,153,408 shares in the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

VZ opened at $43.51 on Wednesday. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1 year low of $37.59 and a 1 year high of $47.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a current ratio of 0.63. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $40.82 and its 200 day simple moving average is $41.89. The stock has a market capitalization of $183.16 billion, a PE ratio of 10.51, a P/E/G ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.41.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.08 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.6775 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.23%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is presently 65.46%.

Insider Transactions at Verizon Communications

In other news, EVP Vandana Venkatesh sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 14,459 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $633,159.61. This trade represents a 40.88 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 6,590 shares in the company, valued at $262,809.20. The trade was a 54.83 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 49,085 shares of company stock worth $2,020,895 in the last three months. 0.02% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have weighed in on VZ. Argus upgraded shares of Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. StockNews.com raised shares of Verizon Communications from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Tigress Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $55.00 target price on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Scotiabank raised their price target on Verizon Communications from $47.50 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, TD Cowen raised Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $46.11.

Verizon Communications 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).