Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Shares Sold by Arnhold LLC

Arnhold LLC reduced its position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 6.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 470,271 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after selling 31,445 shares during the period. Verizon Communications accounts for about 1.9% of Arnhold LLC's holdings, making the stock its 19th biggest holding. Arnhold LLC's holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $18,806,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Insider Activity at Verizon Communications

In related news, EVP Vandana Venkatesh sold 10,000 shares of the 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,459 shares in the company, valued at approximately $633,159.61. This represents a 40.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, 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 value of $319,040.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 6,590 shares in the company, valued at approximately $262,809.20. The trade was a 54.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 54,085 shares of company stock valued at $2,233,295. 0.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. Royal Bank of Canada restated a "sector perform" rating and issued a $45.00 price objective (up previously from $42.00) on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Tuesday, March 25th. Scotiabank boosted their target price on Verizon Communications from $48.50 to $49.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday. StockNews.com cut Verizon Communications from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, March 13th. Finally, Wolfe Research lowered Verizon Communications from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $47.35.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

VZ traded down $0.90 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $41.91. 23,350,565 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 20,158,826. The business's 50-day moving average price is $43.64 and its 200 day moving average price is $41.96. The stock has a market capitalization of $176.43 billion, a PE ratio of 10.12, a P/E/G ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.41. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1-year low of $37.59 and a 1-year high of $47.36. 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 (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.15 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $33.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.31 billion. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.80% and a net margin of 12.99%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, April 10th will be given a dividend of $0.6775 per share. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.47%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. Verizon Communications's dividend payout ratio is presently 65.46%.

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).