Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Shares Sold by TD Waterhouse Canada Inc.

TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 1.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 342,280 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after selling 6,602 shares during the period. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc.'s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $13,698,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Mainstream Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. grew its position in Verizon Communications by 69.6% in the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Graney & King LLC bought a new stake in Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter worth approximately $32,000. Compass Financial Services Inc purchased a new stake in Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, Hager Investment Management Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter valued at $38,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.06% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VZ has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. StockNews.com lowered shares of Verizon Communications from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, March 13th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on Verizon Communications from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Argus raised Verizon Communications to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Wolfe Research cut shares of Verizon Communications from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. Finally, DZ Bank raised shares of Verizon Communications from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $40.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $47.35.

Insider Buying and Selling at Verizon Communications

In other Verizon Communications news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 11,085 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 14,590 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $596,439.20. This trade represents a 43.17 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Vandana Venkatesh sold 10,000 shares of the company'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 value of $437,900.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 14,459 shares of the company's stock, valued at $633,159.61. This trade represents a 40.88 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 54,085 shares of company stock worth $2,233,295 in the last ninety days. 0.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

NYSE VZ traded down $0.90 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $41.91. 23,347,989 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 20,137,963. 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 has a market capitalization of $176.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.12, a P/E/G ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.41. The business's 50 day moving average is $43.63 and its 200-day moving average is $41.99. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1 year low of $37.59 and a 1 year high of $47.36.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.19 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.15 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $33.50 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $33.31 billion. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 12.99% and a return on equity of 19.80%. On average, equities research analysts forecast 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. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be paid a $0.6775 dividend. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.47%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. Verizon Communications's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 65.46%.

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).