Bowen Hanes & Co. Inc. reduced its stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 18.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 30,824 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after selling 7,040 shares during the period. Bowen Hanes & Co. Inc.'s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $1,233,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.
Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in Verizon Communications by 7.3% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 108,694,230 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $4,346,682,000 after buying an additional 7,421,148 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Verizon Communications by 2.2% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 95,824,245 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $4,289,054,000 after purchasing an additional 2,081,241 shares during the period. FMR LLC increased its stake in Verizon Communications by 2.0% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 29,074,297 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $1,305,727,000 after purchasing an additional 565,842 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter worth about $1,083,337,000. Finally, Amundi increased its stake in Verizon Communications by 32.3% during the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 25,227,069 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $983,445,000 after purchasing an additional 6,153,408 shares during the period. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
Insider Buying and Selling at Verizon Communications
In other Verizon Communications news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 8,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Vandana Venkatesh sold 10,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.79, for a total value of $437,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, 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. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 49,085 shares of company stock worth $2,020,895. 0.02% of the stock is owned by insiders.
Verizon Communications Stock Performance
Shares of VZ opened at $42.63 on Thursday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $40.87 and a 200 day moving average price of $41.90. 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 company has a market capitalization of $179.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.41. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52-week low of $37.59 and a 52-week high of $47.36.
Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates 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 period last year, the company earned $1.08 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement
The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be paid a $0.6775 dividend. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.36%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. Verizon Communications's dividend payout ratio is currently 65.46%.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
A number of analysts have issued reports on VZ shares. Argus upgraded shares of Verizon Communications to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. DZ Bank upgraded shares of Verizon Communications from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $40.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $42.00 in a research note on Friday, January 24th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Verizon Communications from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on Verizon Communications in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. They set a "market perform" rating and a $48.00 price objective for the company. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $46.11.
Check Out Our Latest Report on Verizon Communications
About Verizon Communications
(
Free Report)
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).
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