Estabrook Capital Management Sells 8,089 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Estabrook Capital Management lowered its stake in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 5.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 154,560 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after selling 8,089 shares during the period. Estabrook Capital Management's holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $6,181,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Mainstream Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. boosted its position 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 acquiring an additional 320 shares during the last quarter. Graney & King LLC purchased a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. Compass Financial Services Inc bought a new stake in Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter worth $33,000. Finally, Hager Investment Management Services LLC purchased a new stake in Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter valued at $38,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.06% of the company's stock.

Verizon Communications Trading Up 1.8 %

VZ stock traded up $0.76 during trading on Friday, hitting $43.68. The company had a trading volume of 30,139,449 shares, compared to its average volume of 20,133,744. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52-week low of $37.59 and a 52-week high of $47.36. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $43.06 and a 200-day simple moving average of $42.02. The firm has a market capitalization of $183.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.55, a PEG ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a quick ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21.

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

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The company 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 $0.6775 dividend. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.20%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. Verizon Communications's dividend payout ratio is 65.46%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have commented on VZ. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. Evercore ISI raised Verizon Communications from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $48.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Friday. Argus upgraded Verizon Communications to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Wolfe Research cut Verizon Communications from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Verizon Communications from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, March 13th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $46.92.

Insider Transactions at Verizon Communications

In related news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 11,085 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 of the company's stock, valued at $596,439.20. The trade was a 43.17 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Vandana Venkatesh sold 10,000 shares of the 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,459 shares in the company, valued at $633,159.61. This trade represents a 40.88 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 49,085 shares of company stock valued at $2,020,895. 0.02% 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).