Fmr LLC Lowers Stock Position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Fmr LLC lessened its stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 1.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 28,518,216 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after selling 556,081 shares during the period. Fmr LLC owned approximately 0.68% of Verizon Communications worth $1,140,443,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Mainstream Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. increased 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 purchasing an additional 320 shares during the last quarter. Graney & King LLC bought a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. Compass Financial Services Inc purchased a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, Hager Investment Management Services LLC bought a new stake in Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter worth approximately $38,000. Institutional investors own 62.06% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Verizon Communications

In other news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 8,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.88, for a total transaction of $319,040.00. Following the transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Vandana Venkatesh sold 10,000 shares of Verizon Communications 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 14,459 shares of the company's stock, valued at $633,159.61. The trade was a 40.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 49,085 shares of company stock worth $2,020,895. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

Verizon Communications Stock Down 5.5 %

Shares of NYSE:VZ opened at $43.11 on Monday. 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 debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a current ratio of 0.63. The firm has a market capitalization of $181.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.41, a P/E/G ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.41. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52-week low of $37.59 and a 52-week high of $47.36.

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Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly 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 period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.08 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.29%. Verizon Communications's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 65.46%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have commented on VZ shares. Wolfe Research cut shares of Verizon Communications from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Verizon Communications from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. UBS Group boosted their target price on Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Scotiabank raised their price target 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. Ten investment 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 company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $46.82.

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).

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