Verdence Capital Advisors LLC Sells 15,638 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Verdence Capital Advisors LLC cut its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 11.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 120,144 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after selling 15,638 shares during the quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC's holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $4,805,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Swedbank AB increased its stake in Verizon Communications by 0.8% during the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 5,174,541 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $232,389,000 after purchasing an additional 39,403 shares during the period. Solitude Financial Services boosted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 15.8% in the third quarter. Solitude Financial Services now owns 27,944 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $1,255,000 after purchasing an additional 3,809 shares in the last quarter. FSM Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 9.4% in the third quarter. FSM Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 9,759 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $438,000 after acquiring an additional 836 shares during the period. Greenwood Capital Associates LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 8.8% in the third quarter. Greenwood Capital Associates LLC now owns 73,592 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $3,305,000 after acquiring an additional 5,970 shares during the period. Finally, Cary Street Partners Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 3.4% during the third quarter. Cary Street Partners Asset Management LLC now owns 7,628 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $343,000 after purchasing an additional 249 shares during the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Vandana Venkatesh sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 approximately $633,159.61. This trade represents a 40.88 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Kyle Malady sold 20,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 45,675 shares in the company, valued at $1,851,664.50. The trade was a 30.45 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 49,085 shares of company stock worth $2,020,895. Insiders own 0.02% of the company's stock.

Verizon Communications Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of Verizon Communications stock traded down $0.04 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $42.83. The stock had a trading volume of 18,034,850 shares, compared to its average volume of 17,724,547. 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 stock has a fifty day moving average price of $40.40 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $41.77. The company has a market capitalization of $180.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.35, a P/E/G ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.45. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52 week low of $37.59 and a 52 week high of $45.36.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly 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 return on equity of 19.80% and a net margin of 12.99%. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.08 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Shareholders 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 6.33%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. Verizon Communications's payout ratio is presently 65.46%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently commented on VZ. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on Verizon Communications from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Tigress Financial reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $55.00 price objective on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on Verizon Communications in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. They issued a "market perform" rating and a $48.00 price target for the company. Wolfe Research lifted their price target on Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $51.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, DZ Bank upgraded Verizon Communications from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $40.00 target price for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $46.11.

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).