Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. Trims Stock Holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. reduced its holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 51.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 63,112 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after selling 66,458 shares during the period. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc.'s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $2,524,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Swedbank AB increased its position in Verizon Communications by 0.8% during the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 5,174,541 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $232,389,000 after acquiring an additional 39,403 shares during the last quarter. Graypoint LLC boosted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 4.3% during the 3rd quarter. Graypoint LLC now owns 31,689 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $1,423,000 after purchasing an additional 1,310 shares during the period. Advisor Resource Council bought a new position in Verizon Communications during the 3rd quarter valued at about $203,000. Walkner Condon Financial Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Verizon Communications by 38.4% during the 3rd quarter. Walkner Condon Financial Advisors LLC now owns 7,019 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $315,000 after purchasing an additional 1,948 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in Verizon Communications by 2.7% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 4,954,357 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $222,500,000 after purchasing an additional 129,171 shares during the period. 62.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Verizon Communications Stock Up 4.3 %

VZ stock traded up $1.90 during trading on Friday, hitting $46.13. 44,982,282 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 17,835,933. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $40.61 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $41.83. The company has a quick ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. The firm has a market capitalization of $194.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.14, a PEG ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.41. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1 year low of $37.59 and a 1 year high of $46.20.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates 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 period in the previous year, the company earned $1.08 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

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 dividend yield of 5.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. Verizon Communications's payout ratio is 65.46%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. Tigress Financial restated a "buy" rating and set a $55.00 target price on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. DZ Bank upgraded 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. Wolfe Research boosted their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $51.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $42.00 in a report on Friday, January 24th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Verizon Communications currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $46.11.

Insider Activity

In other Verizon Communications news, EVP Vandana Venkatesh sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Kyle Malady sold 20,000 shares of Verizon Communications stock in a transaction on Monday, January 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.54, for a total transaction of $810,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 49,085 shares of company stock worth $2,020,895. Corporate insiders own 0.02% of the company's stock.

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).