St. James Investment Company LLC Sells 233,957 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

St. James Investment Company LLC lessened its stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 63.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 136,262 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after selling 233,957 shares during the quarter. Verizon Communications makes up about 0.9% of St. James Investment Company LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 24th largest position. St. James Investment Company LLC's holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $5,449,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Mainstream Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 69.6% during the fourth quarter. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 780 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 320 shares during the period. Graney & King LLC bought a new position in Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter worth about $32,000. Compass Financial Services Inc bought a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, Hager Investment Management Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.06% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. TD Cowen upgraded Verizon Communications to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. They set a "market perform" rating and a $48.00 price target on the stock. Tigress Financial reissued a "buy" rating and set a $55.00 price objective on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target 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, Wolfe Research lowered shares of Verizon Communications from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $46.82.

Insider Activity at Verizon Communications

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 owns 45,675 shares in the company, valued at $1,851,664.50. The trade was a 30.45 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Vandana Venkatesh sold 10,000 shares of Verizon Communications stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.79, for a total transaction of $437,900.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 14,459 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 sold 49,085 shares of company stock valued at $2,020,895. Insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:VZ traded up $0.94 on Thursday, hitting $45.68. 16,070,301 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 19,552,032. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a current ratio of 0.63. The company's 50 day moving average price is $42.48 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $42.10. Verizon Communications Inc. has a one year low of $37.59 and a one year high of $47.36. The firm has a market capitalization of $192.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.03, a PEG ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.41.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.11 by ($0.01). Verizon Communications had a net margin of 12.99% and a return on equity of 19.80%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.08 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, April 10th will be given a $0.6775 dividend. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.93%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. Verizon Communications's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 65.46%.

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).