Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Shares Sold by Calton & Associates Inc.

Calton & Associates Inc. cut its stake in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 70.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 8,506 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after selling 19,860 shares during the quarter. Calton & Associates Inc.'s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $340,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the 3rd quarter worth about $31,000. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in Verizon Communications by 69.6% during the fourth quarter. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 780 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 320 shares in the last quarter. Accordant Advisory Group Inc lifted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 137.6% during the 3rd quarter. Accordant Advisory Group Inc now owns 777 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 450 shares during the last quarter. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 655.5% in the 4th quarter. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 967 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 839 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Verizon Communications during the 3rd quarter worth $44,000. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have issued reports on VZ shares. DZ Bank upgraded shares of Verizon Communications from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $40.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Wednesday. TD Cowen upgraded Verizon Communications to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Wolfe Research upped their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $51.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Tigress Financial reissued a "buy" rating and set a $55.00 price objective on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $42.00 in a report on Friday, January 24th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Verizon Communications currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $46.08.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

Verizon Communications stock traded down $0.07 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $39.41. The company's stock had a trading volume of 45,176,702 shares, compared to its average volume of 26,574,746. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a current ratio of 0.63. Verizon Communications Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $37.58 and a fifty-two week high of $45.36. The firm has a market capitalization of $165.88 billion, a PE ratio of 9.52, a P/E/G ratio of 4.21 and a beta of 0.46. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $40.69 and its 200 day simple moving average is $41.58.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 24th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.10 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 quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.08 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, January 10th will be issued a $0.6775 dividend. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.88%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 10th. Verizon Communications's dividend payout ratio is currently 65.46%.

Insider Activity at Verizon Communications

In other news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 11,085 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.88, for a total transaction of $453,154.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 14,590 shares of the company's stock, 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 SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.02% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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).