Prudential Financial Inc. Sells 137,554 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Prudential Financial Inc. reduced its stake in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 2.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 5,150,657 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after selling 137,554 shares during the period. Prudential Financial Inc. owned 0.12% of Verizon Communications worth $205,975,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in Verizon Communications by 27.7% during the fourth quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 222,366 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $8,892,000 after acquiring an additional 48,294 shares during the last quarter. Roffman Miller Associates Inc. PA increased its stake in Verizon Communications by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Roffman Miller Associates Inc. PA now owns 382,678 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $15,303,000 after purchasing an additional 6,795 shares during the last quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Verizon Communications during the third quarter worth about $3,376,000. Burney Co. boosted its stake in Verizon Communications by 30.4% in the 4th quarter. Burney Co. now owns 186,621 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $7,463,000 after buying an additional 43,472 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Benjamin Edwards Inc. grew its holdings in Verizon Communications by 1,934.5% in the 3rd quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 1,080,015 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $48,503,000 after buying an additional 1,026,930 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.06% of the company's stock.

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Verizon Communications Stock Up 1.9 %

VZ traded up $0.83 during trading on Thursday, hitting $45.01. The company had a trading volume of 4,692,594 shares, compared to its average volume of 24,844,475. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1-year low of $37.58 and a 1-year high of $47.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 0.63 and a quick ratio of 0.59. The company has a market cap of $189.46 billion, a PE ratio of 10.87, a P/E/G ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.41. The business has a 50-day moving average of $41.85 and a 200-day moving average of $42.05.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.10 EPS 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 quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.08 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be given a $0.6775 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.02%. Verizon Communications's payout ratio is 65.46%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VZ has been the subject of several research reports. Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. They set a "market perform" rating and a $48.00 price objective for the company. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a "sector perform" rating and set a $45.00 price target (up previously from $42.00) on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Tuesday. Scotiabank raised 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. TD Cowen upgraded shares of Verizon Communications to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Ten equities research 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. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $46.71.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 11,085 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 29th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at $596,439.20. This trade represents a 43.17 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Vandana Venkatesh sold 10,000 shares of Verizon Communications 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 approximately $633,159.61. The trade was a 40.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 49,085 shares of company stock worth $2,020,895. 0.02% of the stock is currently owned by 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).