Unigestion Holding SA Sells 236,452 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Unigestion Holding SA cut its holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 23.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 785,581 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after selling 236,452 shares during the period. Verizon Communications accounts for 1.8% of Unigestion Holding SA's investment portfolio, making the stock its 15th biggest position. Unigestion Holding SA's holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $31,415,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 27.7% in the fourth quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 222,366 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $8,892,000 after acquiring an additional 48,294 shares during the period. Roffman Miller Associates Inc. PA boosted its stake in Verizon Communications by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Roffman Miller Associates Inc. PA now owns 382,678 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $15,303,000 after purchasing an additional 6,795 shares during the period. Burney Co. grew its holdings in Verizon Communications by 30.4% during the 4th quarter. Burney Co. now owns 186,621 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $7,463,000 after buying an additional 43,472 shares in the last quarter. Global Wealth Management Investment Advisory Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter valued at about $4,333,000. Finally, Private Advisor Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 64.6% in the fourth quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 1,394,921 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $55,783,000 after buying an additional 547,384 shares in the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Verizon Communications

In other Verizon Communications 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 value of $810,800.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 45,675 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,851,664.50. The trade was a 30.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed 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. Insiders have sold 49,085 shares of company stock valued at $2,020,895 in the last three months. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating and set a $45.00 target price (up previously from $42.00) on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on 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 target price on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Wolfe Research lowered Verizon Communications from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. They issued a "market perform" rating and a $48.00 target price on the stock. 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 MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $46.82.

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Verizon Communications Price Performance

VZ stock opened at $43.11 on Friday. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12-month low of $37.59 and a 12-month high of $47.36. The stock has a market capitalization of $181.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.41, a PEG ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a current ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $42.68 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $42.10.

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 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 previous year, the firm earned $1.08 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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 6.29%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. Verizon Communications's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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).

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