Symphony Financial Ltd. Co. Sells 6,367 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Symphony Financial Ltd. Co. cut its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 5.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 115,362 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after selling 6,367 shares during the quarter. Symphony Financial Ltd. Co.'s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $4,502,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the 3rd quarter valued at $31,000. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in Verizon Communications by 69.6% in the fourth quarter. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 780 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 320 shares in the last quarter. Accordant Advisory Group Inc boosted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 137.6% in the 3rd quarter. Accordant Advisory Group Inc now owns 777 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 450 shares in the last quarter. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC boosted its position in Verizon Communications by 655.5% during the fourth quarter. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 967 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 839 shares during the period. Finally, MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in Verizon Communications in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $44,000. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 11,085 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.88, for a total transaction of $453,154.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 14,590 shares in the company, valued at approximately $596,439.20. The trade was a 43.17 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.02% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

NYSE VZ opened at $39.41 on Friday. The stock's fifty day moving average is $40.61 and its two-hundred day moving average is $41.57. 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 capitalization of $165.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.21 and a beta of 0.46. Verizon Communications Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $37.58 and a fifty-two week high of $45.36.

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 (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 period in the previous year, the business posted $1.08 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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 6.88%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 10th. Verizon Communications's dividend payout ratio is presently 65.46%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VZ has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $42.00 in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Argus upgraded shares of Verizon Communications to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. KeyCorp downgraded Verizon Communications from an "overweight" rating to a "sector weight" rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. DZ Bank raised Verizon Communications from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $40.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Wolfe Research raised their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $51.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target 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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