Ridgepath Capital Management LLC Sells 40,737 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Ridgepath Capital Management LLC lowered its stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 30.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 94,727 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after selling 40,737 shares during the period. Verizon Communications accounts for approximately 1.7% of Ridgepath Capital Management LLC's holdings, making the stock its 13th biggest holding. Ridgepath Capital Management LLC's holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $3,788,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 27.7% in the 4th quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 222,366 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $8,892,000 after buying an additional 48,294 shares during the period. Kestra Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Verizon Communications in the third quarter valued at approximately $3,376,000. Cyndeo Wealth Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 9.7% during the 3rd quarter. Cyndeo Wealth Partners LLC now owns 202,521 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $9,095,000 after purchasing an additional 17,855 shares during the period. Burney Co. raised its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 30.4% during the 4th quarter. Burney Co. now owns 186,621 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $7,463,000 after purchasing an additional 43,472 shares during the period. Finally, Benjamin Edwards Inc. boosted its position in Verizon Communications by 1,934.5% during 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 purchasing an additional 1,026,930 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 62.06% of the company's stock.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:VZ traded down $0.07 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $39.41. 45,176,702 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, 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. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $40.69 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $41.58. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12 month low of $37.58 and a 12 month high of $45.36. The firm has a market capitalization of $165.88 billion, a PE ratio of 9.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.21 and a beta of 0.46.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last announced 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 net margin of 12.99% and a return on equity of 19.80%. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.08 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Cuts Dividend

The firm 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 dividend of $0.6775 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 10th. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.88%. Verizon Communications's dividend payout ratio is 65.46%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

VZ has been the topic of several analyst reports. Tigress Financial restated a "buy" rating and issued a $55.00 target price on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Thursday. StockNews.com lowered shares of Verizon Communications from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, December 16th. KeyCorp downgraded shares of Verizon Communications from an "overweight" rating to a "sector weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on Verizon Communications in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. They issued a "market perform" rating and a $48.00 target price for the company. Finally, DZ Bank upgraded Verizon Communications from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $40.00 price target on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Verizon Communications currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $46.08.

Insider Buying and Selling at Verizon Communications

In other news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 11,085 shares of the 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 14,590 shares of the company's stock, valued at $596,439.20. This represents a 43.17 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.02% 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).