Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Shares Sold by Waterloo Capital L.P.

Waterloo Capital L.P. lowered its holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 9.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 35,489 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 3,563 shares during the quarter. Waterloo Capital L.P.’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $1,419,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VZ. Mainstream Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. lifted its stake 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 buying an additional 320 shares during the last quarter. Graney & King LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Compass Financial Services Inc purchased a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, Hager Investment Management Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter valued at $38,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have commented on VZ. Argus upgraded shares of Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. UBS Group boosted their price target on Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $45.00 target price (up from $42.00) on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Tuesday, March 25th. StockNews.com cut Verizon Communications from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $46.82.

Verizon Communications Trading Down 5.5 %

Shares of VZ stock opened at $43.11 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $42.68 and a 200-day simple moving average of $42.09. Verizon Communications Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $37.59 and a fifty-two week high of $47.36. The stock has a market cap of $181.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.41, a P/E/G ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.41.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last issued 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 return on equity of 19.80% and a net margin of 12.99%. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.08 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, April 10th will be paid a $0.6775 dividend. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.29%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is 65.46%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Verizon Communications

In related news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 8,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.88, for a total transaction of $319,040.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 6,590 shares in the company, valued at approximately $262,809.20. This trade represents a 54.83 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Vandana Venkatesh sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was 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 owns 14,459 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $633,159.61. This represents a 40.88 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 49,085 shares of company stock worth $2,020,895. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

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).