Payden & Rygel Cuts Stock Position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Payden & Rygel trimmed its position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 50.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 278,590 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after selling 282,800 shares during the quarter. Payden & Rygel's holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $11,141,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in VZ. Mainstream Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 69.6% in the 4th 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 last quarter. Graney & King LLC acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. Compass Financial Services Inc purchased a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, Hager Investment Management Services LLC acquired a new stake in Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.06% of the company's stock.

Verizon Communications Stock Down 5.5 %

NYSE VZ traded down $2.51 during trading on Friday, reaching $43.11. 42,633,412 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 19,738,736. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $42.68 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $42.09. The stock has a market cap of $181.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.41. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1 year low of $37.59 and a 1 year high of $47.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a current ratio of 0.63.

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Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last posted 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 in the previous year, the firm posted $1.08 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The business 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 6.29%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. Verizon Communications's payout ratio is 65.46%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have commented on VZ shares. Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on Verizon Communications in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. They set a "market perform" rating and a $48.00 price target on the stock. Wolfe Research lowered Verizon Communications from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. StockNews.com downgraded Verizon Communications from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. UBS Group raised their price objective 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. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Ten 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 data from MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $46.82.

Insider Activity at Verizon Communications

In related news, EVP Vandana Venkatesh sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 owns 14,459 shares in the company, valued at $633,159.61. This trade represents a 40.88 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Kyle Malady sold 8,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.88, for a total value of $319,040.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 6,590 shares of the company's stock, 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 have sold 49,085 shares of company stock valued at $2,020,895 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

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).