MTM Investment Management LLC Trims Holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

MTM Investment Management LLC decreased its stake in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 1.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 17,228 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 280 shares during the quarter. MTM Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $689,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in Verizon Communications in the third quarter valued at $31,000. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. raised its position in Verizon Communications by 69.6% in the fourth 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 purchased a new stake in Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter valued at $33,000. Accordant Advisory Group Inc raised its position in Verizon Communications by 137.6% in the third quarter. Accordant Advisory Group Inc now owns 777 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 450 shares during the period. Finally, Hager Investment Management Services LLC purchased a new stake in Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter valued at $38,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Trading Up 0.1 %

VZ opened at $40.52 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $170.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.17 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. The business’s 50 day moving average is $40.03 and its two-hundred day moving average is $41.56. 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 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 last year, the business posted $1.08 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 10th were issued a $0.6775 dividend. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.69%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 10th. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is currently 65.46%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 11,085 shares of Verizon Communications stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.88, for a total value of $453,154.80. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 14,590 shares in the company, valued at $596,439.20. The trade was a 43.17 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 39,085 shares of company stock valued at $1,582,995. Company insiders own 0.02% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have commented on VZ. Sanford C. Bernstein began 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. KeyCorp cut Verizon Communications from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. DZ Bank upgraded Verizon Communications from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $40.00 target price for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $42.00 in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Scotiabank lifted their price objective on Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $47.50 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target 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).