Carret Asset Management LLC Sells 13,998 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Carret Asset Management LLC lowered its stake in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 12.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 98,185 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after selling 13,998 shares during the quarter. Carret Asset Management LLC's holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $3,926,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of VZ. Mainstream Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. grew its stake in Verizon Communications by 69.6% in the 4th 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. Compass Financial Services Inc bought a new position in Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. Hager Investment Management Services LLC bought a new position in Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter valued at $38,000. Finally, Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC grew its stake in Verizon Communications by 655.5% in the 4th quarter. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 967 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 839 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 62.06% of the company's stock.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:VZ traded down $0.05 on Friday, hitting $43.67. The company's stock had a trading volume of 17,425,339 shares, compared to its average volume of 18,179,350. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $41.01 and a 200 day simple moving average of $41.93. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1 year low of $37.59 and a 1 year high of $47.36. The company has a market capitalization of $183.82 billion, a PE ratio of 10.55, a PEG ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 0.63 and a quick ratio of 0.59.

Remove Ads

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last released 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 period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.08 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be issued a $0.6775 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.21%. Verizon Communications's payout ratio is currently 65.46%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Verizon Communications

In other 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Kyle Malady sold 8,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.88, for a total value of $319,040.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 6,590 shares in the company, valued at $262,809.20. This trade represents a 54.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 49,085 shares of company stock valued at $2,020,895 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.02% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

VZ has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. TD Cowen upgraded Verizon Communications to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on Verizon Communications in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. They set a "market perform" rating and a $48.00 price target for the company. UBS Group increased their price target on Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Tigress Financial reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $55.00 price target on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Argus upgraded Verizon Communications to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Eleven 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat, Verizon Communications has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $46.11.

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).