Garner Asset Management Corp Sells 12,648 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Garner Asset Management Corp cut its holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 10.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 103,559 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after selling 12,648 shares during the quarter. Verizon Communications accounts for 1.9% of Garner Asset Management Corp's investment portfolio, making the stock its 10th largest position. Garner Asset Management Corp's holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $4,141,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. McIlrath & Eck LLC boosted its stake in Verizon Communications by 15.9% during the 3rd quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 12,244 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $550,000 after purchasing an additional 1,680 shares during the last quarter. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. grew its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 5.1% in the third quarter. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. now owns 7,133 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $320,000 after purchasing an additional 346 shares in the last quarter. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 5.3% in the third quarter. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC now owns 16,327 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $733,000 after purchasing an additional 819 shares during the last quarter. Te Ahumairangi Investment Management Ltd lifted its position in Verizon Communications by 1.3% during the third quarter. Te Ahumairangi Investment Management Ltd now owns 758,019 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $33,850,000 after buying an additional 9,846 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Chelsea Counsel Co. grew its holdings in Verizon Communications by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. Chelsea Counsel Co. now owns 31,420 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $1,411,000 after buying an additional 400 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.06% of the company's stock.

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Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 20,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, January 27th. The stock was 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,851,664.50. This trade represents a 30.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Vandana Venkatesh sold 10,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.79, for a total transaction of $437,900.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 14,459 shares in the company, valued at $633,159.61. This trade represents a 40.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 49,085 shares of company stock valued at $2,020,895. 0.02% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Verizon Communications Trading Up 0.6 %

VZ traded up $0.25 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $44.55. 2,930,189 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 25,748,504. The company has a current ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1 year low of $37.58 and a 1 year high of $47.35. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $43.15 and a 200 day moving average price of $42.02. The firm has a market cap of $187.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.41.

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

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced 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 yield of 6.08%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. Verizon Communications's payout ratio is 65.46%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Scotiabank lifted their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $48.50 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. UBS Group upped their price target on Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a "sector perform" rating and set a $45.00 price objective (up from $42.00) on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Tuesday, March 25th. Wolfe Research downgraded shares of Verizon Communications from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Finally, Oppenheimer raised their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $46.92.

Verizon Communications 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).