Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Shares Sold by iA Global Asset Management Inc.

iA Global Asset Management Inc. decreased its position in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 69.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 7,780 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after selling 17,657 shares during the quarter. iA Global Asset Management Inc.'s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $311,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Swedbank AB raised its holdings in Verizon Communications by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 5,174,541 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $232,389,000 after buying an additional 39,403 shares during the period. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $2,790,000. Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. purchased a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $880,000. Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 6.9% in the 3rd quarter. Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC now owns 29,535 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $1,326,000 after acquiring an additional 1,912 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Eagle Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 9.5% during the 3rd quarter. Eagle Asset Management Inc. now owns 684,908 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $30,759,000 after purchasing an additional 59,387 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.06% of the company's stock.

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Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VZ has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. TD Cowen raised Verizon Communications to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on Verizon Communications from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Scotiabank lifted their target price on Verizon Communications from $47.50 to $48.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a "sector perform" rating and set a $45.00 price target (up from $42.00) on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Verizon Communications has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $46.71.

Insider Buying and Selling at Verizon Communications

In other Verizon Communications news, EVP Vandana Venkatesh sold 10,000 shares of the business's 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,459 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $633,159.61. The trade was a 40.88 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Kyle Malady sold 8,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.88, for a total value of $319,040.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 6,590 shares in the company, valued at $262,809.20. The trade was a 54.83 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 49,085 shares of company stock worth $2,020,895. 0.02% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Verizon Communications Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE:VZ traded down $0.10 on Tuesday, hitting $43.46. 21,480,936 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 18,369,336. The firm's 50-day moving average is $41.73 and its 200 day moving average is $42.04. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1-year low of $37.59 and a 1-year high of $47.36. 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 company has a market capitalization of $182.95 billion, a PE ratio of 10.50, a P/E/G ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.41.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 24th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 last year, the company posted $1.08 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared 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 6.24%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. Verizon Communications's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 65.46%.

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).