Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Shares Sold by Convergence Investment Partners LLC

Convergence Investment Partners LLC lessened its stake in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 35.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 37,923 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after selling 20,571 shares during the period. Convergence Investment Partners LLC's holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $1,517,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in Verizon Communications by 6.2% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 101,273,082 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $4,548,163,000 after buying an additional 5,936,009 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Verizon Communications by 2.2% in 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 buying an additional 2,081,241 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its stake in Verizon Communications by 2.0% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 29,074,297 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $1,305,727,000 after buying an additional 565,842 shares in the last quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC grew its holdings in Verizon Communications by 2.8% in the third quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 18,161,563 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $815,636,000 after purchasing an additional 502,949 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Swiss National Bank grew its holdings in Verizon Communications by 0.4% in the third quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 12,493,998 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $561,105,000 after purchasing an additional 46,100 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 62.06% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Scotiabank lifted their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $47.50 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Wolfe Research lifted their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. DZ Bank raised shares of Verizon Communications from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $40.00 price target on the stock in a report 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 report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Argus raised shares of Verizon Communications to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $46.08.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Verizon Communications news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 11,085 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.88, for a total value of $453,154.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 14,590 shares in the company, valued at approximately $596,439.20. This represents a 43.17 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 39,085 shares of company stock worth $1,582,995. Company insiders own 0.02% of the company's stock.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

NYSE:VZ traded up $0.28 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $42.77. The company's stock had a trading volume of 25,452,613 shares, compared to its average volume of 23,105,430. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1 year low of $37.58 and a 1 year high of $45.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 0.63 and a quick ratio of 0.59. The stock has a market cap of $180.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.33, a PEG ratio of 4.40 and a beta of 0.45. The business's fifty day moving average is $39.91 and its two-hundred day moving average is $41.61.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.10 EPS 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 in the previous year, the business earned $1.08 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 10th were given a $0.6775 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 10th. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.34%. Verizon Communications's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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).