Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Shares Sold by Bank of Montreal Can

Bank of Montreal Can lessened its stake in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 12.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 10,212,112 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after selling 1,391,917 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can owned 0.24% of Verizon Communications worth $408,382,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. EP Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 2.4% in the third quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 115,152 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $5,171,000 after purchasing an additional 2,666 shares during the period. DF Dent & Co. Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 19.3% in the 3rd quarter. DF Dent & Co. Inc. now owns 11,326 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $509,000 after acquiring an additional 1,835 shares during the last quarter. Bontempo Ohly Capital Mgmt LLC raised its holdings in Verizon Communications by 1.3% during the third quarter. Bontempo Ohly Capital Mgmt LLC now owns 101,374 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $4,553,000 after purchasing an additional 1,258 shares in the last quarter. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in Verizon Communications during the 3rd quarter worth $48,000. Finally, Pacific Center for Financial Services boosted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 10.9% in the 3rd quarter. Pacific Center for Financial Services now owns 7,277 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $327,000 after purchasing an additional 715 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.06% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently weighed in on VZ shares. TD Cowen raised shares of Verizon Communications to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on Verizon Communications from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Scotiabank boosted their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.50 to $48.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Argus upgraded Verizon Communications to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Verizon Communications from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Verizon Communications has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $46.82.

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Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 11,085 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.88, for a total value of $453,154.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 14,590 shares of the company's stock, valued at $596,439.20. This 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 firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.79, for a total value of $437,900.00. Following 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 49,085 shares of company stock valued at $2,020,895 in the last quarter. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Verizon Communications Trading Down 5.5 %

Shares of VZ stock opened at $43.11 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $181.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.41, a P/E/G ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.41. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $42.68 and a 200 day moving average price of $42.09. The company has a quick ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12-month low of $37.59 and a 12-month high of $47.36.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly 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 last year, the business posted $1.08 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, April 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.6775 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.29%. Verizon Communications's payout ratio is 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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