IHT Wealth Management LLC Decreases Holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

IHT Wealth Management LLC trimmed its position in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 26.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 84,401 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after selling 31,000 shares during the quarter. IHT Wealth Management LLC's holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $3,375,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VZ. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 363,824,525 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $14,549,343,000 after purchasing an additional 5,697,337 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 7.3% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 108,694,230 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $4,346,682,000 after buying an additional 7,421,148 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Verizon Communications by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 96,823,092 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $3,862,441,000 after acquiring an additional 998,847 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter worth $2,300,846,000. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in Verizon Communications by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 36,851,192 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $1,473,557,000 after acquiring an additional 990,775 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.06% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have commented on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on Verizon Communications from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Scotiabank boosted their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $48.50 to $49.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday. DZ Bank raised shares of Verizon Communications from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $40.00 price target for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Tigress Financial restated a "buy" rating and set a $55.00 price objective on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Oppenheimer upped their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $47.35.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

NYSE VZ traded up $0.15 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $42.85. 16,579,440 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 20,125,001. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $43.59 and a 200-day moving average of $42.00. The company has a current ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. The stock has a market cap of $180.39 billion, a PE ratio of 10.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.41. Verizon Communications Inc. has a one year low of $37.59 and a one year high of $47.36.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.19 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.15 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $33.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $33.31 billion. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 12.99% and a return on equity of 19.80%. On average, equities research analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.32%. Verizon Communications's payout ratio is presently 65.46%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 8,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 directly owns 6,590 shares in the company, valued at $262,809.20. This trade represents a 54.83 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Vandana Venkatesh sold 10,000 shares of the company's 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 14,459 shares of the company's stock, valued at $633,159.61. This represents a 40.88 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 54,085 shares of company stock valued at $2,233,295. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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).