HighPoint Advisor Group LLC Decreases Stock Holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

HighPoint Advisor Group LLC decreased its holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 3.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 146,520 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after selling 5,692 shares during the period. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC's holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $5,930,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Mainstream Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. 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. Graney & King LLC acquired a new position in Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. Compass Financial Services Inc bought a new position in Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, Hager Investment Management Services LLC acquired a new stake in Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.06% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 20,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, January 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.54, for a total value of $810,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 45,675 shares in the company, valued at $1,851,664.50. This represents a 30.45 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Vandana Venkatesh sold 10,000 shares of Verizon Communications stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at approximately $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. In 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.

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Verizon Communications Trading Up 1.8 %

Shares of NYSE VZ traded up $0.82 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $45.56. The company's stock had a trading volume of 17,551,529 shares, compared to its average volume of 19,557,757. The stock has a market cap of $191.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.00, a P/E/G ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.41. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12 month low of $37.59 and a 12 month high of $47.36. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $42.48 and a 200-day simple moving average of $42.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a current ratio of 0.63.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last announced 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 previous year, the business posted $1.08 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be given a dividend of $0.6775 per share. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.95%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. Verizon Communications's dividend payout ratio is currently 65.46%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently commented on VZ shares. StockNews.com cut Verizon Communications from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. TD Cowen upgraded Verizon Communications to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Oppenheimer raised their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday. DZ Bank raised shares of Verizon Communications from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $40.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Scotiabank upped 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, March 3rd. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $46.82.

About Verizon Communications

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).