Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Shares Sold by Scotia Capital Inc.

Scotia Capital Inc. reduced its position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 12.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 529,990 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after selling 75,314 shares during the quarter. Scotia Capital Inc.'s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $21,195,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Phoenix Financial Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 30.1% in the fourth quarter. Phoenix Financial Ltd. now owns 23,108 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $924,000 after buying an additional 5,344 shares in the last quarter. F M Investments LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 19.6% in the 4th quarter. F M Investments LLC now owns 129,952 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $5,197,000 after acquiring an additional 21,282 shares during the last quarter. CenterBook Partners LP boosted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 316.6% in the 4th quarter. CenterBook Partners LP now owns 229,974 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $9,197,000 after purchasing an additional 174,769 shares during the period. Cutler Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Verizon Communications by 22.2% during the fourth quarter. Cutler Capital Management LLC now owns 86,819 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $3,472,000 after buying an additional 15,782 shares during the period. Finally, DRW Securities LLC raised its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 25.9% in the fourth quarter. DRW Securities LLC now owns 11,617 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $464,000 after acquiring an additional 2,389 shares during the period. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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Verizon Communications Trading Up 1.1 %

VZ stock traded up $0.49 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $44.22. 8,452,599 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 20,089,866. The stock has a market capitalization of $186.15 billion, a PE ratio of 10.68, a P/E/G 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 business has a 50-day simple moving average of $43.06 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $42.02. The company has a current ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.10 earnings per share (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 last year, the firm posted $1.08 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, April 10th will be given a $0.6775 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.13%. Verizon Communications's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 65.46%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently weighed in on VZ shares. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. TD Cowen upgraded shares of Verizon Communications to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Argus raised Verizon Communications to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Scotiabank lifted their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $48.50 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Tigress Financial reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $55.00 target price on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $46.92.

Insider Transactions at Verizon Communications

In related news, EVP Vandana Venkatesh sold 10,000 shares of Verizon Communications stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,459 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $633,159.61. The trade was a 40.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Kyle Malady sold 20,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.54, for a total transaction of $810,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 45,675 shares in the company, valued at $1,851,664.50. This represents a 30.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 49,085 shares of company stock worth $2,020,895. Company 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).