Adams Diversified Equity Fund Inc. Sells 33,100 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Adams Diversified Equity Fund Inc. reduced its position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 8.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 378,300 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after selling 33,100 shares during the quarter. Adams Diversified Equity Fund Inc.'s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $15,128,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Mainstream Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 320 shares during the last quarter. Compass Financial Services Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Hager Investment Management Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Finally, Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 655.5% during the 4th 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 last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Verizon Communications Trading Down 0.9 %

Shares of Verizon Communications stock traded down $0.41 on Monday, hitting $43.59. 18,043,602 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 18,346,765. The company has a fifty day moving average of $41.63 and a two-hundred day moving average of $42.02. Verizon Communications Inc. has a one year low of $37.59 and a one year high of $47.36. The company has a market capitalization of $183.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.53, a price-to-earnings-growth 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.

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Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly 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 return on equity of 19.80% and a net margin of 12.99%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.08 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be issued a $0.6775 dividend. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.22%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. Verizon Communications's payout ratio is 65.46%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VZ has been the subject of several research reports. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Verizon Communications from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. UBS Group increased their price target on Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on Verizon Communications from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Tigress Financial reissued a "buy" rating and set a $55.00 price target on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price target on Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $42.00 in a report on Friday, January 24th. Ten equities 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 company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Verizon Communications currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $46.53.

Insider Buying and Selling at Verizon Communications

In related news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 11,085 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.88, for a total value of $453,154.80. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 14,590 shares in the company, valued at $596,439.20. This trade represents a 43.17 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Vandana Venkatesh sold 10,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.79, for a total transaction of $437,900.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 14,459 shares of the company's stock, valued at $633,159.61. This trade represents a 40.88 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 49,085 shares of company stock valued at $2,020,895. Corporate insiders own 0.02% of the company's stock.

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).