Securian Asset Management Inc. Sells 6,572 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Securian Asset Management Inc. reduced its stake in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 2.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 226,249 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after selling 6,572 shares during the period. Securian Asset Management Inc.'s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $9,048,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Truvestments Capital LLC boosted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 5.9% in the 4th quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC now owns 76,583 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $3,063,000 after buying an additional 4,241 shares during the last quarter. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. purchased a new position in Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $106,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Verizon Communications by 7.1% in the fourth quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 57,694 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $2,307,000 after purchasing an additional 3,837 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Verizon Communications by 33.0% in the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 21,723 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $869,000 after purchasing an additional 5,391 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Verizon Communications by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 615,939 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $24,631,000 after purchasing an additional 5,351 shares during the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently commented on VZ shares. TD Cowen upgraded Verizon Communications to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective on Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $42.00 in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on Verizon Communications in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. They set a "market perform" rating and a $48.00 target price on the stock. Argus upgraded Verizon Communications to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, DZ Bank upgraded Verizon Communications from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $40.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $46.11.

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Verizon Communications Stock Down 6.4 %

Shares of NYSE:VZ opened at $43.51 on Wednesday. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $40.82 and its 200-day moving average price is $41.89. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12-month low of $37.59 and a 12-month high of $47.36. The stock has a market capitalization of $183.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.41. 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 (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.10 earnings per share 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 quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.08 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The company 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 dividend of $0.6775 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.23%. Verizon Communications's dividend payout ratio is currently 65.46%.

Insider Transactions at Verizon Communications

In other news, EVP Vandana Venkatesh sold 10,000 shares of Verizon Communications stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.79, for a total transaction of $437,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,459 shares in the company, valued at approximately $633,159.61. This trade represents a 40.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Kyle Malady sold 20,000 shares of Verizon Communications stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.54, for a total transaction of $810,800.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 45,675 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,851,664.50. The trade was 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. Company insiders own 0.02% of the company's stock.

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).

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