Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Shares Sold by OLD National Bancorp IN

OLD National Bancorp IN cut its holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 2.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 316,680 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after selling 8,616 shares during the period. OLD National Bancorp IN's holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $12,664,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in VZ. Coston McIsaac & Partners grew its holdings in Verizon Communications by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Coston McIsaac & Partners now owns 104,009 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $4,159,000 after purchasing an additional 1,199 shares during the period. Synergy Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Verizon Communications by 118.7% during the fourth quarter. Synergy Asset Management LLC now owns 105,540 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $4,471,000 after purchasing an additional 57,275 shares during the period. Gries Financial LLC lifted its position in Verizon Communications by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Gries Financial LLC now owns 47,882 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $1,915,000 after purchasing an additional 478 shares during the period. Milestone Asset Management LLC raised its position in Verizon Communications by 56.7% in the fourth quarter. Milestone Asset Management LLC now owns 63,517 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $2,540,000 after acquiring an additional 22,988 shares during the period. Finally, Ibex Wealth Advisors bought a new position in Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter worth approximately $9,548,000. 62.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Verizon Communications news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, January 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.54, for a total value of $810,800.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 45,675 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,851,664.50. This trade represents a 30.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.02% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Verizon Communications Trading Down 2.0 %

VZ traded down $0.82 on Thursday, reaching $39.47. 26,729,330 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 25,559,129. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a current ratio of 0.66. Verizon Communications Inc. has a twelve month low of $37.58 and a twelve month high of $45.36. The company's 50 day moving average is $40.75 and its 200-day moving average is $41.60. The company has a market cap of $166.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.01, a PEG ratio of 3.27 and a beta of 0.46.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 24th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.11 by ($0.01). Verizon Communications had a net margin of 7.30% and a return on equity of 20.05%. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.08 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.59 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, January 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.6775 per share. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 10th. Verizon Communications's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 116.81%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have weighed in on VZ shares. Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. They issued a "market perform" rating and a $48.00 price target on the stock. Scotiabank increased their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $47.50 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Monday. TD Cowen raised shares of Verizon Communications to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. DZ Bank raised shares of Verizon Communications from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $40.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Verizon Communications from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company 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).