Clearbridge Investments LLC Sells 90,890 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Clearbridge Investments LLC cut its stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 58.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 64,966 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after selling 90,890 shares during the period. Clearbridge Investments LLC's holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $2,598,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Rench Wealth Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 3.1% in the 3rd quarter. Rench Wealth Management Inc. now owns 102,868 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $4,620,000 after acquiring an additional 3,065 shares in the last quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. boosted its stake in Verizon Communications by 1.1% in the third quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 1,856,315 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $83,367,000 after purchasing an additional 19,899 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP boosted its stake in Verizon Communications by 74.2% in the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 4,012 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $180,000 after purchasing an additional 1,709 shares in the last quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP grew its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 18.9% during the third quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 261,702 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $11,753,000 after purchasing an additional 41,677 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quadrature Capital Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the third quarter valued at $13,891,000. Institutional investors own 62.06% of the company's stock.

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Verizon Communications Trading Down 5.5 %

Shares of NYSE VZ traded down $2.51 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $43.11. 42,633,412 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 19,717,249. 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 Inc. has a 12 month low of $37.59 and a 12 month high of $47.36. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $42.61 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $42.13. The company has a market capitalization of $181.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.41, a P/E/G ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.41.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last posted its 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 firm earned $1.08 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.6775 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.29%. Verizon Communications's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 65.46%.

Insider Buying and Selling 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,459 shares in the company, valued at approximately $633,159.61. This trade represents a 40.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Kyle Malady sold 20,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.54, for a total value of $810,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 45,675 shares in the company, valued at $1,851,664.50. The trade was a 30.45 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 49,085 shares of company stock valued at $2,020,895. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VZ has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Scotiabank increased their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.50 to $48.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Oppenheimer increased their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday. TD Cowen upgraded shares of Verizon Communications to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Argus upgraded Verizon Communications to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their target price on Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $46.82.

Verizon Communications 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).