Prudential PLC Sells 122,918 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Prudential PLC reduced its stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 21.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 453,990 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after selling 122,918 shares during the period. Prudential PLC's holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $18,155,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of VZ. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 27.7% during the fourth quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 222,366 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $8,892,000 after purchasing an additional 48,294 shares in the last quarter. Roffman Miller Associates Inc. PA lifted its position in Verizon Communications by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Roffman Miller Associates Inc. PA now owns 382,678 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $15,303,000 after buying an additional 6,795 shares during the period. Burney Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 30.4% during the 4th quarter. Burney Co. now owns 186,621 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $7,463,000 after buying an additional 43,472 shares in the last quarter. Global Wealth Management Investment Advisory Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter worth about $4,333,000. Finally, Private Advisor Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 64.6% in the 4th quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 1,394,921 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $55,783,000 after acquiring an additional 547,384 shares in the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Verizon Communications Stock Performance

VZ traded down $2.51 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $43.11. 42,633,412 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 19,717,249. The company's fifty day moving average price is $42.68 and its 200-day moving average price is $42.11. The stock has a market capitalization of $181.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.41, a P/E/G ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a quick ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52-week low of $37.59 and a 52-week high of $47.36.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 24th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.10 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 firm posted $1.08 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, April 10th will be given 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 yield of 6.29%. Verizon Communications's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 65.46%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently commented on VZ. StockNews.com lowered shares of Verizon Communications from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. DZ Bank upgraded Verizon Communications from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $40.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. UBS Group lifted 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. Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on Verizon Communications in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. They issued a "market perform" rating and a $48.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Wolfe Research lowered Verizon Communications from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $46.82.

Insider Activity at Verizon Communications

In other news, EVP Vandana Venkatesh sold 10,000 shares of Verizon Communications stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.79, for a total transaction of $437,900.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,459 shares of the company's stock, valued at $633,159.61. The trade was a 40.88 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Kyle Malady sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 45,675 shares of the company's stock, 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. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 49,085 shares of company stock worth $2,020,895. 0.03% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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).