Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Shares Sold by Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC

Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 20.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 407,763 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after selling 102,310 shares during the period. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC's holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $16,306,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Mainstream Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. boosted its position 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. Graney & King LLC acquired a new stake in Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. Compass Financial Services Inc purchased a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, Hager Investment Management Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter worth $38,000. 62.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Verizon Communications

In other Verizon Communications news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 11,085 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Vandana Venkatesh sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.79, for a total transaction of $437,900.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,459 shares in the company, valued at $633,159.61. The trade was a 40.88 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 54,085 shares of company stock valued at $2,233,295 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.10% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently commented on VZ. Wolfe Research cut shares of Verizon Communications from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Tigress Financial reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $55.00 price target on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Argus upgraded Verizon Communications to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on Verizon Communications from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated a "sector perform" rating and issued a $45.00 price objective (up from $42.00) on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Tuesday, March 25th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $47.35.

Verizon Communications Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE:VZ traded up $0.15 during trading on Thursday, reaching $42.85. 16,579,440 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 20,108,289. 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 12-month low of $37.59 and a 12-month high of $47.36. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $43.59 and its 200 day moving average price is $42.00. The firm has a market cap of $180.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.35, 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 Tuesday, April 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.19 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.15 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $33.50 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $33.31 billion. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.80% and a net margin of 12.99%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.32%. Verizon Communications's dividend payout ratio is currently 65.46%.

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).