Parnassus Investments LLC Sells 1,548,584 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Parnassus Investments LLC decreased its position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 8.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 16,612,979 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after selling 1,548,584 shares during the quarter. Verizon Communications accounts for approximately 1.5% of Parnassus Investments LLC's holdings, making the stock its 28th largest position. Parnassus Investments LLC owned 0.39% of Verizon Communications worth $664,353,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Mainstream Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. raised its stake 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 acquiring an additional 320 shares during the period. Compass Financial Services Inc bought a new position in Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. Hager Investment Management Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter worth approximately $38,000. Finally, Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC lifted its holdings 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 worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 839 shares during the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Verizon Communications Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE VZ traded down $0.05 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $43.67. The company had a trading volume of 17,425,339 shares, compared to its average volume of 18,328,208. 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 twelve month low of $37.59 and a twelve month high of $47.36. The stock's 50 day moving average is $41.01 and its 200-day moving average is $41.93. The stock has a market capitalization of $183.82 billion, a PE ratio of 10.55, 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 earnings per share 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 last year, the business earned $1.08 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, April 10th will be given a dividend of $0.6775 per share. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.21%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. Verizon Communications's payout ratio is presently 65.46%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VZ has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on Verizon Communications in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. They issued a "market perform" rating and a $48.00 price objective for the company. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Tigress Financial restated a "buy" rating and issued a $55.00 target price on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Wolfe Research lowered Verizon Communications from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Scotiabank boosted their price objective on Verizon Communications from $47.50 to $48.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $46.11.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Verizon Communications news, EVP Vandana Venkatesh sold 10,000 shares of the business's 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 14,459 shares of the company's stock, valued at $633,159.61. The trade was a 40.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Kyle Malady sold 8,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.88, for a total value of $319,040.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 6,590 shares in the company, valued at approximately $262,809.20. This represents a 54.83 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 49,085 shares of company stock valued at $2,020,895 over the last ninety days. Corporate 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).