TD Asset Management Inc. Decreases Stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

TD Asset Management Inc. cut its stake in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 0.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,125,429 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after selling 12,771 shares during the quarter. TD Asset Management Inc. owned 0.10% of Verizon Communications worth $164,976,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Mainstream Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. increased its position 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 valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 320 shares during the period. Compass Financial Services Inc bought a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter valued at $33,000. Hager Investment Management Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter worth $38,000. Finally, Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Verizon Communications by 655.5% in the fourth quarter. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 967 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 839 shares during the period. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently commented on VZ shares. Scotiabank raised their target price on Verizon Communications from $47.50 to $48.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Argus upgraded shares of Verizon Communications to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted 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. StockNews.com lowered Verizon Communications from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, March 13th. Finally, Wolfe Research downgraded shares of Verizon Communications from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Verizon Communications presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $46.71.

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Verizon Communications Trading Up 0.1 %

VZ traded up $0.07 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $45.03. 9,344,557 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 19,471,873. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $41.98 and a two-hundred day moving average of $42.07. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52 week low of $37.59 and a 52 week high of $47.36. The stock has a market capitalization of $189.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.88, a P/E/G ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 0.63 and a quick ratio of 0.59.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.10 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 prior year, the business earned $1.08 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, April 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.6775 per share. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.02%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. Verizon Communications's payout ratio is currently 65.46%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 8,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.88, for a total value of $319,040.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 6,590 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $262,809.20. This represents a 54.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Vandana Venkatesh sold 10,000 shares of the firm's 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 transaction, the executive vice president now 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. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 49,085 shares of company stock worth $2,020,895. 0.02% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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).