Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Shares Sold by Guggenheim Capital LLC

Guggenheim Capital LLC trimmed its position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 9.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,057,615 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after selling 113,754 shares during the quarter. Guggenheim Capital LLC's holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $42,294,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Kirtland Hills Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Verizon Communications by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Kirtland Hills Capital Management LLC now owns 10,968 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $439,000 after purchasing an additional 252 shares during the period. JB Capital LLC grew its holdings in Verizon Communications by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. JB Capital LLC now owns 20,816 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $832,000 after buying an additional 258 shares in the last quarter. Curbstone Financial Management Corp raised its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Curbstone Financial Management Corp now owns 34,786 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $1,391,000 after buying an additional 262 shares during the last quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC raised its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 9.9% during the fourth quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 2,915 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $117,000 after buying an additional 263 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tower Wealth Partners Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. Tower Wealth Partners Inc. now owns 10,483 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $419,000 after buying an additional 263 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 62.06% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Verizon Communications

In related news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 8,000 shares of Verizon Communications stock in a transaction that occurred 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 owns 6,590 shares in the company, valued at approximately $262,809.20. This trade represents a 54.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,459 shares of the company's stock, 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. Insiders have sold a total of 49,085 shares of company stock worth $2,020,895 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.02% of the company's stock.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

VZ stock traded up $0.40 during trading on Friday, hitting $44.01. The stock had a trading volume of 16,479,869 shares, compared to its average volume of 20,166,780. Verizon Communications Inc. has a twelve month low of $37.59 and a twelve month high of $47.36. The company's 50-day moving average price is $43.39 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $42.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 0.63 and a quick ratio of 0.59. The stock has a market capitalization of $185.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.63, a PEG ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.41.

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 the consensus estimate 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 previous year, the firm earned $1.08 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS 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 issued a $0.6775 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.16%. Verizon Communications's payout ratio is 65.46%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have commented on VZ. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Verizon Communications from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, March 13th. Wolfe Research cut shares of Verizon Communications from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. Oppenheimer lifted 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. 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 note on Tuesday, March 25th. Finally, Argus upgraded Verizon Communications to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target 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).