Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) CEO Kyle Malady Sells 8,000 Shares

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) CEO Kyle Malady sold 8,000 shares of Verizon Communications stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.88, for a total transaction of $319,040.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 6,590 shares in the company, valued at $262,809.20. This trade represents a 54.83 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink.

Kyle Malady also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Wednesday, January 29th, Kyle Malady sold 11,085 shares of Verizon Communications stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.88, for a total transaction of $453,154.80.
• On Monday, January 27th, Kyle Malady sold 20,000 shares of Verizon Communications stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.54, for a total value of $810,800.00.

Verizon Communications Stock Up 0.6 %

NYSE VZ traded up $0.25 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $40.06. 6,419,199 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 25,438,930. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $40.44 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $41.54. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12-month low of $37.58 and a 12-month high of $45.36. The firm has a market cap of $168.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.11 and a beta of 0.45. 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 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 business posted $1.08 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 10th were paid a $0.6775 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 10th. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.76%. Verizon Communications's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 65.46%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Verizon Communications

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. AMF Tjanstepension AB grew its stake in Verizon Communications by 58.0% during the 3rd quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 1,756,452 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $78,975,000 after purchasing an additional 644,761 shares during the last quarter. Czech National Bank boosted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 6.9% in the third quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 857,524 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $38,511,000 after purchasing an additional 55,411 shares during the period. Alpha Financial Partners LLC acquired a new position in Verizon Communications during the 3rd quarter worth $224,000. Diversified Trust Co raised its position in Verizon Communications by 42.3% in the 3rd quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 60,403 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $2,713,000 after purchasing an additional 17,949 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Foster Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the 3rd quarter valued at about $201,000. 62.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have weighed in on VZ shares. Scotiabank lifted their target price on Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $47.50 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price 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. DZ Bank raised shares of Verizon Communications from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $40.00 price target for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on Verizon Communications in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. They set a "market perform" rating and a $48.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Wolfe Research lifted their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $46.08.

About Verizon Communications

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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