Taylor Financial Group Inc. Sells 733 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Taylor Financial Group Inc. cut its stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 3.3% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 21,217 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 733 shares during the period. Taylor Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $848,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in VZ. Swedbank AB raised its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 5,174,541 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $232,389,000 after buying an additional 39,403 shares in the last quarter. Adero Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the 3rd quarter worth about $231,000. TrinityPoint Wealth LLC increased its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 3.2% during the 3rd quarter. TrinityPoint Wealth LLC now owns 32,240 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,448,000 after purchasing an additional 997 shares in the last quarter. Aljian Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the 3rd quarter worth about $718,000. Finally, Equity Investment Corp increased its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Equity Investment Corp now owns 4,046,696 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $181,737,000 after purchasing an additional 35,049 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Vandana Venkatesh sold 10,000 shares of Verizon Communications stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.79, for a total transaction of $437,900.00. Following 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, 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 transaction of $453,154.80. Following the transaction, 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 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 owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on VZ. Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $48.00 target price for the company. Wolfe Research cut shares of Verizon Communications from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. StockNews.com cut shares of Verizon Communications from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. TD Cowen upgraded shares of Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Finally, Argus upgraded shares of Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $46.11.

Verizon Communications Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE VZ opened at $43.69 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $183.90 billion, a PE ratio of 10.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.41. 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 1 year low of $37.59 and a 1 year high of $47.36. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $41.09 and its 200-day moving average is $41.95.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last issued its earnings results 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 prior year, the business posted $1.08 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Investors 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 yield of 6.20%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. 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).