Morningstar Investment Management LLC Has $6.86 Million Stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Morningstar Investment Management LLC lessened its holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 16.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 171,610 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after selling 33,409 shares during the period. Verizon Communications makes up 0.5% of Morningstar Investment Management LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 23rd biggest position. Morningstar Investment Management LLC's holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $6,863,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Austin Private Wealth LLC lifted its stake in Verizon Communications by 3.0% in the 3rd quarter. Austin Private Wealth LLC now owns 8,450 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $379,000 after acquiring an additional 243 shares in the last quarter. Cary Street Partners Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 3.4% in the third quarter. Cary Street Partners Asset Management LLC now owns 7,628 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $343,000 after purchasing an additional 249 shares during the last quarter. First Personal Financial Services lifted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 0.3% in the third quarter. First Personal Financial Services now owns 91,092 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $4,091,000 after purchasing an additional 250 shares in the last quarter. Encompass Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 2.0% during the third quarter. Encompass Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 12,505 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $562,000 after purchasing an additional 250 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Dallas Securities Inc. grew its position in Verizon Communications by 0.8% in the third quarter. First Dallas Securities Inc. now owns 31,728 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $1,425,000 after purchasing an additional 257 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 62.06% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Verizon Communications news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 20,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 45,675 shares in the company, valued at $1,851,664.50. The trade was a 30.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Insiders sold 39,085 shares of company stock valued at $1,582,995 over the last quarter. 0.02% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

NYSE VZ traded up $0.28 during trading on Friday, reaching $42.77. The company's stock had a trading volume of 18,532,100 shares, compared to its average volume of 22,809,768. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12 month low of $37.58 and a 12 month high of $45.36. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $39.90 and a 200 day moving average price of $41.59. The firm has a market capitalization of $180.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.40 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a current ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last issued 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 return on equity of 19.80% and a net margin of 12.99%. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.08 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, January 10th were paid a $0.6775 dividend. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.34%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 10th. Verizon Communications's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 65.46%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have commented on VZ. DZ Bank raised shares of Verizon Communications from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $40.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on Verizon Communications from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on Verizon Communications in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. They issued a "market perform" rating and a $48.00 price target for the company. Scotiabank upped their price objective on Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $47.50 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Argus raised Verizon Communications to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $46.08.

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).