Caprock Group LLC Trims Stock Position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Caprock Group LLC reduced its stake in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 5.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 119,173 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after selling 6,438 shares during the period. Caprock Group LLC's holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $4,766,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Verizon Communications by 9.8% during the fourth quarter. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 21,939 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $877,000 after acquiring an additional 1,954 shares during the period. Coastwise Capital Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Coastwise Capital Group LLC now owns 45,897 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $1,835,000 after purchasing an additional 628 shares in the last quarter. Hunter Associates Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 4.7% in the 4th quarter. Hunter Associates Investment Management LLC now owns 10,929 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $437,000 after purchasing an additional 486 shares during the period. Gilbert & Cook Inc. boosted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. now owns 22,590 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $903,000 after buying an additional 397 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter valued at $562,000. 62.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

Shares of Verizon Communications stock opened at $39.41 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a current ratio of 0.63. The business's 50 day moving average price is $40.69 and its 200 day moving average price is $41.58. The company has a market cap of $165.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.52, a PEG ratio of 4.21 and a beta of 0.46. Verizon Communications Inc. has a one year low of $37.58 and a one year high of $45.36.

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 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 last year, the firm posted $1.08 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.6775 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 10th. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.88%. Verizon Communications's dividend payout ratio is currently 65.46%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on Verizon Communications in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. They set a "market perform" rating and a $48.00 target price on the stock. Tigress Financial restated a "buy" rating and issued a $55.00 price objective on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Thursday. StockNews.com lowered Verizon Communications from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, December 16th. TD Cowen raised shares of Verizon Communications to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Finally, DZ Bank raised shares of Verizon Communications from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $40.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Ten 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $46.08.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 11,085 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.88, for a total transaction of $453,154.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 14,590 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $596,439.20. This trade represents a 43.17 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.02% of the company's stock.

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).

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