Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Shares Sold by Congress Wealth Management LLC DE

Congress Wealth Management LLC DE trimmed its stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 4.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 501,904 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after selling 21,504 shares during the period. Congress Wealth Management LLC DE's holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $20,071,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,083,337,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in Verizon Communications by 7.3% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 108,694,230 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $4,346,682,000 after purchasing an additional 7,421,148 shares during the period. Amundi raised its position in Verizon Communications by 32.3% in the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 25,227,069 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $983,445,000 after purchasing an additional 6,153,408 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 363,824,525 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $14,549,343,000 after buying an additional 5,697,337 shares during the period. Finally, Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the third quarter worth about $177,799,000. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Scotiabank upped their price objective on Verizon Communications from $47.50 to $48.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. DZ Bank upgraded 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, January 29th. Wolfe Research cut Verizon Communications from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Finally, Tigress Financial reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $55.00 price target on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Verizon Communications presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $46.71.

Insider Transactions at Verizon Communications

In other Verizon Communications news, EVP Vandana Venkatesh sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.79, for a total value of $437,900.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,459 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $633,159.61. This trade represents a 40.88 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Kyle Malady sold 20,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.54, for a total transaction of $810,800.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 45,675 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,851,664.50. This represents a 30.45 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 49,085 shares of company stock valued at $2,020,895 over the last three months. 0.02% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

NYSE:VZ traded up $0.81 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $44.99. The stock had a trading volume of 21,894,976 shares, compared to its average volume of 18,391,370. 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 stock has a market cap of $189.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.87, a P/E/G ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.41. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $41.98 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $42.07. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12-month low of $37.59 and a 12-month high of $47.36.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last issued 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 return on equity of 19.80% and a net margin of 12.99%. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.08 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be given a dividend of $0.6775 per share. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.02%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. Verizon Communications's payout ratio is 65.46%.

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).