Sonora Investment Management Group LLC Has $7.89 Million Holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Sonora Investment Management Group LLC reduced its stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 3.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 197,379 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after selling 6,762 shares during the period. Sonora Investment Management Group LLC's holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $7,893,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new stake in Verizon Communications in the third quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Accordant Advisory Group Inc boosted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 137.6% during the 3rd quarter. Accordant Advisory Group Inc now owns 777 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 450 shares in the last quarter. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. grew its position in Verizon Communications by 69.6% during the 4th quarter. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 780 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 320 shares during the last quarter. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC raised its position in Verizon Communications by 655.5% in the fourth quarter. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 967 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 839 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the third quarter valued at about $44,000. 62.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Verizon Communications Trading Down 2.0 %

NYSE:VZ opened at $39.47 on Friday. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52 week low of $37.58 and a 52 week high of $45.36. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $40.75 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $41.60. The firm has a market cap of $166.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.21 and a beta of 0.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a current ratio of 0.63.

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

Verizon Communications Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 10th will be paid a $0.6775 dividend. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.87%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 10th. Verizon Communications's payout ratio is 65.46%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 20,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 45,675 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,851,664.50. The trade was a 30.45 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.02% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have weighed in on VZ. Scotiabank boosted their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $47.50 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Monday. DZ Bank raised Verizon Communications from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $40.00 target price for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Tigress Financial reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $55.00 price target on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Thursday. StockNews.com cut Verizon Communications from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, December 16th. Finally, 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. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $46.08.

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).

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