Prudential PLC Has $18.16 Million Stock Position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Prudential PLC lessened its stake in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 21.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm 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.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in Verizon Communications by 27.7% during the 4th quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 222,366 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $8,892,000 after acquiring an additional 48,294 shares during the period. Roffman Miller Associates Inc. PA boosted its holdings in shares of 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 worth $15,303,000 after purchasing an additional 6,795 shares during the period. Burney Co. grew its position in Verizon Communications by 30.4% during the fourth quarter. Burney Co. now owns 186,621 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $7,463,000 after purchasing an additional 43,472 shares in the last quarter. Global Wealth Management Investment Advisory Inc. purchased a new stake in Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter worth approximately $4,333,000. Finally, Private Advisor Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 64.6% during the fourth 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 owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 8,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 6,590 shares in the company, valued at $262,809.20. This represents a 54.83 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Vandana Venkatesh sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,459 shares of the company's stock, valued at $633,159.61. This represents a 40.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 49,085 shares of company stock valued at $2,020,895. 0.02% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

Shares of Verizon Communications stock traded down $0.84 during trading on Monday, hitting $42.19. 18,875,642 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 25,155,719. Verizon Communications Inc. has a twelve month low of $37.58 and a twelve month high of $47.35. 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 company has a market cap of $177.62 billion, a PE ratio of 10.19, a PEG ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.41. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $42.68 and its 200 day moving average price is $42.09.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last issued its 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 firm earned $1.08 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

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 $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 6.42%. Verizon Communications's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 65.46%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. TD Cowen raised Verizon Communications to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. They set a "market perform" rating and a $48.00 price objective for the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated a "sector perform" rating and set a $45.00 price target (up from $42.00) on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $46.82.

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).