Banco Santander S.A. Decreases Stock Holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Banco Santander S.A. trimmed its position in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 58.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 25,803 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after selling 35,867 shares during the period. Banco Santander S.A.'s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $1,032,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. First Personal Financial Services boosted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 0.3% during the third quarter. First Personal Financial Services now owns 91,092 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $4,091,000 after buying an additional 250 shares during the period. Encompass Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 2.0% in the third quarter. Encompass Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 12,505 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $562,000 after buying an additional 250 shares during the period. Kirtland Hills Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Verizon Communications by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Kirtland Hills Capital Management LLC now owns 10,968 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $439,000 after acquiring an additional 252 shares in the last quarter. First Dallas Securities Inc. lifted its stake in Verizon Communications by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. First Dallas Securities Inc. now owns 31,728 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $1,425,000 after acquiring an additional 257 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JB Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. JB Capital LLC now owns 20,816 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $832,000 after acquiring an additional 258 shares in the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Remove Ads

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on VZ shares. Scotiabank raised their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.50 to $48.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd. DZ Bank upgraded Verizon Communications from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $40.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. StockNews.com raised shares of Verizon Communications from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective on Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $42.00 in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. They set a "market perform" rating and a $48.00 price objective on the stock. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Verizon Communications presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $46.11.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE VZ traded up $0.49 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $46.55. 39,812,337 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 17,923,918. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52 week low of $37.59 and a 52 week high of $47.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 0.63 and a quick ratio of 0.59. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $40.75 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $41.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $195.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.41.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.10 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 company posted $1.08 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The company 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 $0.6775 dividend. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.82%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. Verizon Communications's dividend payout ratio is 65.46%.

Insider Transactions at Verizon Communications

In other Verizon Communications news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 8,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 6,590 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $262,809.20. This trade represents a 54.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Vandana Venkatesh sold 10,000 shares of Verizon Communications stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.79, for a total value of $437,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,459 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $633,159.61. This represents a 40.88 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 49,085 shares of company stock worth $2,020,895. Insiders own 0.02% of the company's stock.

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).