Sterling Capital Management LLC Sells 7,405 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Sterling Capital Management LLC trimmed its stake in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 9.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 67,995 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after selling 7,405 shares during the quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC's holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $2,719,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of VZ. Inlight Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter valued at $4,011,000. Heritage Trust Co bought a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter valued at about $575,000. Jaffetilchin Investment Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 58.9% during the fourth quarter. Jaffetilchin Investment Partners LLC now owns 45,078 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $1,803,000 after purchasing an additional 16,707 shares during the period. Zuckerman Investment Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 4.2% in the fourth quarter. Zuckerman Investment Group LLC now owns 46,779 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $1,870,000 after purchasing an additional 1,896 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Treasurer of the State of North Carolina raised its position in Verizon Communications by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 2,075,431 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $82,996,000 after purchasing an additional 20,610 shares during the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Remove Ads

Insider Activity

In other Verizon Communications news, EVP Vandana Venkatesh sold 10,000 shares of Verizon Communications 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,459 shares of the company's stock, valued at $633,159.61. This trade represents a 40.88 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Kyle Malady sold 11,085 shares of the company'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 in the company, valued at $596,439.20. This represents a 43.17 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 49,085 shares of company stock worth $2,020,895 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.02% of the company's stock.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

Shares of Verizon Communications stock traded up $0.17 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $44.47. The company's stock had a trading volume of 21,787,347 shares, compared to its average volume of 20,171,746. 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 Inc. has a 12-month low of $37.59 and a 12-month high of $47.36. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $43.15 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $42.02. The company has a market cap of $187.22 billion, a PE ratio of 10.74, a PEG ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.41.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 previous year, the business earned $1.08 EPS. Analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.6775 per share. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.09%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. Verizon Communications's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 65.46%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VZ has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Scotiabank boosted their target price on Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $48.50 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. 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 note on Friday, January 24th. Tigress Financial restated a "buy" rating and issued a $55.00 price objective on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Evercore ISI upgraded Verizon Communications from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $48.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Friday. Finally, UBS Group increased their price objective on Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $46.92.

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).