Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Shares Sold by Sowell Financial Services LLC

Sowell Financial Services LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 19.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 128,291 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after selling 30,203 shares during the period. Sowell Financial Services LLC's holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $5,130,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC lifted 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 valued at $8,892,000 after buying an additional 48,294 shares in the last quarter. Roffman Miller Associates Inc. PA raised its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 1.8% during 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 period. Kestra Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the third quarter valued at approximately $3,376,000. Burney Co. raised its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 30.4% during the fourth quarter. Burney Co. now owns 186,621 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $7,463,000 after purchasing an additional 43,472 shares during the period. Finally, Benjamin Edwards Inc. raised its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 1,934.5% during the third 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. 62.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

Shares of VZ opened at $46.13 on Friday. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1 year low of $37.59 and a 1 year high of $46.20. The company has a market cap of $194.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.41. 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 firm has a fifty day moving average of $40.61 and a 200-day moving average of $41.83.

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Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last announced 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 net margin of 12.99% and a return on equity of 19.80%. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.08 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, April 10th will be issued a $0.6775 dividend. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.87%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. Verizon Communications's payout ratio is currently 65.46%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 20,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.54, for a total value of $810,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 45,675 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,851,664.50. This represents a 30.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Vandana Venkatesh sold 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,459 shares of the company's stock, valued at $633,159.61. The trade was a 40.88 % 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 90 days. 0.02% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Tigress Financial reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $55.00 price objective on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Wolfe Research lifted their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $51.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. TD Cowen upgraded shares of Verizon Communications to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Finally, DZ Bank upgraded shares of Verizon Communications from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $40.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $46.11.

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).

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