Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Position Lessened by LSV Asset Management

LSV Asset Management cut its stake in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 4.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 12,392,211 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after selling 549,198 shares during the quarter. Verizon Communications makes up approximately 1.1% of LSV Asset Management's portfolio, making the stock its 9th biggest position. LSV Asset Management owned 0.29% of Verizon Communications worth $495,565,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 1.6% during 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 acquiring an additional 5,697,337 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 7.3% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 108,694,230 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $4,346,682,000 after buying an additional 7,421,148 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Verizon Communications by 1.0% during 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 in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter valued at $2,300,846,000. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter valued at $1,083,337,000. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Insider Transactions at Verizon Communications

In related news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 20,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, January 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.54, for a total transaction of $810,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 45,675 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,851,664.50. This represents a 30.45 % decrease in their position. 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 firm'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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly 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. Insiders 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

NYSE:VZ traded up $0.51 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $44.24. 9,763,408 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 20,095,572. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1-year low of $37.59 and a 1-year high of $47.36. The stock has a market cap of $186.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.69, a P/E/G ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.41. The firm's 50-day moving average is $43.06 and its 200-day moving average is $42.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 0.63 and a quick ratio of 0.59.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.10 earnings per share 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 company earned $1.08 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.6775 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.13%. Verizon Communications's dividend payout ratio is presently 65.46%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have weighed in on VZ. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Wolfe Research lowered shares of Verizon Communications from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Argus upgraded shares of Verizon Communications to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Scotiabank boosted their price target on Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $48.50 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed 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. Ten investment 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 company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Verizon Communications presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $46.92.

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).