Wellington Management Group LLP Has $81.28 Million Stock Holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Wellington Management Group LLP lowered its position in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 17.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,032,525 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after selling 437,011 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP's holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $81,281,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Mainstream Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. raised 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 during the period. Graney & King LLC purchased a new stake in Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter worth approximately $32,000. Compass Financial Services Inc bought a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, Hager Investment Management Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter valued at $38,000. 62.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Verizon Communications

In other Verizon Communications news, EVP Vandana Venkatesh sold 10,000 shares of the 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 14,459 shares of the company's stock, valued at $633,159.61. This represents a 40.88 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Kyle Malady sold 8,000 shares of Verizon Communications stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.88, for a total transaction of $319,040.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 6,590 shares in the company, valued at $262,809.20. The trade was a 54.83 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 49,085 shares of company stock valued at $2,020,895 in the last quarter. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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Verizon Communications Price Performance

Shares of VZ stock traded down $2.51 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $43.11. 42,633,412 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 19,738,736. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12-month low of $37.59 and a 12-month high of $47.36. The company has a current ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $42.68 and its 200-day simple moving average is $42.11. The company has a market capitalization of $181.47 billion, a PE ratio of 10.41, a PEG ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.41.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last posted 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 period in the previous year, the business posted $1.08 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.6775 per share. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.29%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. Verizon Communications's dividend payout ratio is 65.46%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

VZ has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Scotiabank lifted their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.50 to $48.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Wolfe Research lowered shares of Verizon Communications from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on Verizon Communications in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. They set a "market perform" rating and a $48.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Tigress Financial restated a "buy" rating and set a $55.00 target price on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Ten 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's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $46.82.

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).