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

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

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in VZ. Mainstream Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in Verizon Communications by 69.6% in the 4th quarter. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 780 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 320 shares during the period. Graney & King LLC purchased a new position in Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. Compass Financial Services Inc bought a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, Hager Investment Management Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter worth about $38,000. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently weighed in on VZ shares. Scotiabank upped their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.50 to $48.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Verizon Communications from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, March 13th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. They set a "market perform" rating and a $48.00 price objective for the company. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $46.82.

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Verizon Communications Trading Up 0.0 %

Shares of NYSE VZ traded up $0.02 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $45.38. 15,707,748 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 19,527,477. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $42.24 and a 200 day moving average price of $42.08. 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 firm has a market cap of $191.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.96, a P/E/G ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.41. 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 announced 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 net margin of 12.99% and a return on equity of 19.80%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.08 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared 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. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.97%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. Verizon Communications's payout ratio is 65.46%.

Insider Activity at Verizon Communications

In other news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 11,085 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.88, for a total transaction of $453,154.80. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 14,590 shares of the company's stock, valued at $596,439.20. This trade represents a 43.17 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Vandana Venkatesh sold 10,000 shares of the business's 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,459 shares of the company's stock, valued at $633,159.61. The trade was a 40.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 49,085 shares of company stock valued at $2,020,895 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.02% of the company's stock.

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).