SPC Financial Inc. Trims Stock Position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

SPC Financial Inc. decreased its position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 13.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 50,204 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after selling 7,723 shares during the quarter. SPC Financial Inc.'s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $2,008,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of VZ. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 7.3% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 108,694,230 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $4,346,682,000 after purchasing an additional 7,421,148 shares in the last quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund purchased a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the third quarter worth about $177,799,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 184.3% during the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 5,428,540 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $217,087,000 after purchasing an additional 3,519,258 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its holdings in Verizon Communications by 77.1% during the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 6,101,616 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $274,052,000 after buying an additional 2,656,396 shares in the last quarter. Finally, DJE Kapital AG purchased a new position in Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $88,078,000. Institutional investors own 62.06% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Verizon Communications

In other Verizon Communications news, EVP Vandana Venkatesh sold 10,000 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 14,459 shares in the company, valued at $633,159.61. This trade represents a 40.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Kyle Malady sold 8,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.88, for a total transaction of $319,040.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 6,590 shares in the company, valued at $262,809.20. The trade was a 54.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 49,085 shares of company stock worth $2,020,895. Corporate insiders own 0.02% of the company's stock.

Verizon Communications Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE:VZ traded down $0.04 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $42.83. 18,034,850 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 17,724,547. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $40.40 and a 200 day simple moving average of $41.77. The firm has a market cap of $180.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.45. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1-year low of $37.59 and a 1-year high of $45.36. 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 (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last announced 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 posted $1.08 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

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 given a dividend of $0.6775 per share. 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 6.33%. Verizon Communications's payout ratio is 65.46%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently commented on VZ. StockNews.com cut Verizon Communications from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, December 16th. Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on Verizon Communications in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. They set a "market perform" rating and a $48.00 target price for the company. UBS Group lifted their price target on Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. 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 note on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $42.00 in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $46.11.

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).