O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC Sells 240,293 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC trimmed its position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 13.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,500,964 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after selling 240,293 shares during the period. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC's holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $60,024,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Mainstream Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Verizon Communications by 69.6% in the fourth quarter. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 780 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 320 shares during the last quarter. Graney & King LLC purchased a new stake in Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. Compass Financial Services Inc bought a new stake in Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, Hager Investment Management Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter worth about $38,000. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have issued reports on VZ shares. Tigress Financial reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $55.00 target price on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Wolfe Research cut shares of Verizon Communications from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Scotiabank lifted their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.50 to $48.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. TD Cowen upgraded shares of Verizon Communications to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on Verizon Communications in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. They issued a "market perform" rating and a $48.00 price objective on the stock. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $46.71.

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Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Verizon Communications news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 8,000 shares of Verizon Communications stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.88, for a total transaction of $319,040.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 6,590 shares in the company, valued at approximately $262,809.20. The trade was a 54.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Vandana Venkatesh sold 10,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 49,085 shares of company stock worth $2,020,895. 0.02% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Verizon Communications Trading Up 1.0 %

Verizon Communications stock traded up $0.47 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $45.40. 27,775,225 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 19,542,689. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $42.11 and its 200 day moving average price is $42.07. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52-week low of $37.59 and a 52-week high of $47.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 0.63 and a quick ratio of 0.59. The firm has a market capitalization of $191.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.97, a P/E/G ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.41.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 24th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.10 EPS 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 quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.08 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be issued a $0.6775 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.97%. Verizon Communications's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 65.46%.

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).