Lowe Brockenbrough & Co. Inc. Trims Stock Holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Lowe Brockenbrough & Co. Inc. trimmed its holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 5.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 17,867 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 986 shares during the period. Lowe Brockenbrough & Co. Inc.’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $715,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Mainstream Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 320 shares during the period. Compass Financial Services Inc bought a new position in Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. Hager Investment Management Services LLC bought a new position in Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter valued at $38,000. Finally, Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 655.5% in the 4th 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. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related 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 directly owns 14,459 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $633,159.61. This represents a 40.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, 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 stock was sold at an average price of $40.88, for a total transaction of $453,154.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 14,590 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $596,439.20. The trade was a 43.17 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 49,085 shares of company stock valued at $2,020,895. Insiders own 0.02% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have commented on VZ. 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 price target for the company. Scotiabank raised their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.50 to $48.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd. TD Cowen raised shares of Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, DZ Bank raised shares of Verizon Communications from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $40.00 price objective for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Eleven equities research 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 stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $46.11.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:VZ opened at $44.06 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $185.46 billion, a PE ratio of 10.64, a PEG ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.41. The company’s fifty day moving average is $41.52 and its 200 day moving average is $42.01. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52 week low of $37.59 and a 52 week high of $47.36. 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 (NYSE:VZ) last issued its earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.10 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 previous year, the firm posted $1.08 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.6775 per share. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.15%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 65.46%.

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).