Rathbones Group PLC Decreases Holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Rathbones Group PLC trimmed its position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 4.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 566,128 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after selling 28,141 shares during the quarter. Rathbones Group PLC's holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $22,639,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

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Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on VZ shares. DZ Bank raised shares of Verizon Communications from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $40.00 target price on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Argus raised Verizon Communications to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. TD Cowen upgraded Verizon Communications to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price objective on Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $46.92.

Insider Activity at Verizon Communications

In other Verizon Communications news, EVP Vandana Venkatesh sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were 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 owns 14,459 shares in the company, valued at approximately $633,159.61. This trade represents a 40.88 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Kyle Malady sold 8,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.88, for a total value of $319,040.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 6,590 shares in the company, valued at $262,809.20. The trade was a 54.83 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 49,085 shares of company stock valued at $2,020,895 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.02% of the company's stock.

Verizon Communications Stock Up 1.9 %

Shares of VZ traded up $0.82 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $43.74. The stock had a trading volume of 14,838,085 shares, compared to its average volume of 20,060,442. The company has a market capitalization of $184.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.54, a P/E/G ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.41. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $42.99 and a 200 day simple moving average of $42.05. 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 Inc. has a 12 month low of $37.59 and a 12 month high of $47.36.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results 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 prior year, the company earned $1.08 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be issued a $0.6775 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.20%. Verizon Communications's dividend payout ratio is presently 65.46%.

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).