Cypress Capital Group Trims Stock Holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Cypress Capital Group cut its position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 31.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 30,697 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after selling 14,240 shares during the quarter. Cypress Capital Group's holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $1,228,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in VZ. Mainstream Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 69.6% during 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 last quarter. Compass Financial Services Inc bought a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, Hager Investment Management Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $38,000. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

VZ has been the topic of several research reports. Argus raised shares of Verizon Communications to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Verizon Communications from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, December 16th. Wolfe Research boosted their target price 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. Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. They set a "market perform" rating and a $48.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Scotiabank boosted their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.50 to $48.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Monday. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Verizon Communications currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $46.11.

Verizon Communications Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of Verizon Communications stock traded down $0.04 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $42.83. 18,034,850 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 17,724,547. 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 1-year low of $37.59 and a 1-year high of $45.36. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $40.40 and a 200-day moving average price of $41.77. The firm has a market capitalization of $180.32 billion, a PE ratio of 10.35, a P/E/G ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.45.

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

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be paid a $0.6775 dividend. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.33%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. Verizon Communications's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 65.46%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Verizon Communications

In other Verizon Communications news, EVP Vandana Venkatesh sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.79, for a total value of $437,900.00. Following the transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction 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 firm'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 in the company, valued at $1,851,664.50. The trade was a 30.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 49,085 shares of company stock valued at $2,020,895. Corporate insiders own 0.02% of the company's stock.

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).