Cullen Capital Management LLC Sells 53,769 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Cullen Capital Management LLC decreased its stake in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 3.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,420,807 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after selling 53,769 shares during the period. Cullen Capital Management LLC's holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $56,818,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Mainstream Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 69.6% in the fourth quarter. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 780 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 320 shares in the last quarter. Graney & King LLC acquired a new position in Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Compass Financial Services Inc bought a new position in Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, Hager Investment Management Services LLC acquired a new stake in Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter valued at $38,000. Institutional investors own 62.06% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. 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 research note on Monday, March 3rd. UBS Group increased their price target on Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. Argus raised Verizon Communications to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, DZ Bank upgraded shares of Verizon Communications from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $40.00 target price on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $46.82.

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Verizon Communications Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:VZ traded down $2.51 during trading on Friday, reaching $43.11. 42,633,412 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 19,738,736. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12 month low of $37.59 and a 12 month high of $47.36. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $42.68 and a 200-day moving average price of $42.09. The company has a current ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. The firm has a market cap of $181.47 billion, a PE ratio of 10.41, a PEG ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.41.

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 (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 period in the prior year, the company earned $1.08 earnings per share. Research analysts expect 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. Investors of record on Thursday, April 10th will be given a dividend of $0.6775 per share. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.29%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. Verizon Communications's dividend payout ratio is 65.46%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Vandana Venkatesh sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.79, for a total value of $437,900.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Kyle Malady sold 8,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.88, for a total transaction of $319,040.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 6,590 shares of the company's stock, valued at $262,809.20. This represents a 54.83 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 49,085 shares of company stock worth $2,020,895 in the last quarter. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Verizon Communications Company 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).