Ranch Capital Advisors Inc. Lowers Stock Position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Ranch Capital Advisors Inc. trimmed its position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 9.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 59,254 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 6,145 shares during the period. Verizon Communications makes up about 1.1% of Ranch Capital Advisors Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 25th biggest position. Ranch Capital Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $2,370,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Independent Advisor Alliance grew its position in Verizon Communications by 9.8% in the 4th quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 197,916 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $7,915,000 after buying an additional 17,691 shares during the last quarter. Paragon Private Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 4.7% in the fourth quarter. Paragon Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,746 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $390,000 after acquiring an additional 438 shares during the period. Tower Wealth Partners Inc. lifted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. Tower Wealth Partners Inc. now owns 10,483 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $419,000 after acquiring an additional 263 shares during the period. Gallagher Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter valued at $1,776,000. Finally, Moran Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Moran Wealth Management LLC now owns 82,700 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $3,307,000 after acquiring an additional 1,389 shares during the period. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Verizon Communications

In related news, EVP Vandana Venkatesh sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.79, for a total transaction of $437,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 14,459 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $633,159.61. This trade represents a 40.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Kyle Malady sold 11,085 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.88, for a total value of $453,154.80. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 14,590 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $596,439.20. This represents a 43.17 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 49,085 shares of company stock valued at $2,020,895. 0.02% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. DZ Bank raised 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 cut their price target on Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $42.00 in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on Verizon Communications in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $48.00 price target for the company. Tigress Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $55.00 price target on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on Verizon Communications from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $46.11.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

Shares of VZ opened at $46.13 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $194.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.14, a PEG ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.41. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $40.61 and a 200 day moving average price of $41.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 0.63 and a quick ratio of 0.59. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12 month low of $37.59 and a 12 month high of $46.20.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 period in the prior year, the company earned $1.08 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be paid a $0.6775 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.87%. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is 65.46%.

About Verizon Communications

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).