Wellington Shields Capital Management LLC Has $9.45 Million Stock Holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Wellington Shields Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 473.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 236,232 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after purchasing an additional 195,067 shares during the period. Verizon Communications comprises approximately 0.8% of Wellington Shields Capital Management LLC's holdings, making the stock its 25th biggest holding. Wellington Shields Capital Management LLC's holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $9,447,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 27.7% in 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 during the last quarter. Roffman Miller Associates Inc. PA raised its holdings in Verizon Communications by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Roffman Miller Associates Inc. PA now owns 382,678 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $15,303,000 after acquiring an additional 6,795 shares during the last quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the 3rd quarter worth $3,376,000. Burney Co. boosted its holdings 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 worth $7,463,000 after purchasing an additional 43,472 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Benjamin Edwards Inc. grew its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 1,934.5% in 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. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.06% of the company's stock.

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Insider Buying and Selling at Verizon Communications

In other Verizon Communications news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 8,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.88, for a total transaction of $319,040.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 6,590 shares in the company, valued at approximately $262,809.20. The trade was a 54.83 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Vandana Venkatesh sold 10,000 shares of Verizon Communications stock in a transaction that occurred 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 in the company, valued at approximately $633,159.61. This trade represents a 40.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 49,085 shares of company stock worth $2,020,895 in the last 90 days. 0.02% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Verizon Communications Stock Down 0.1 %

NYSE:VZ traded down $0.05 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $43.67. The stock had a trading volume of 17,425,339 shares, compared to its average volume of 18,179,350. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $41.01 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $41.93. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1-year low of $37.59 and a 1-year 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 company has a market cap of $183.82 billion, a PE ratio of 10.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.41.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last released 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 in the previous year, the company posted $1.08 EPS. Analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current 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 issued a $0.6775 dividend. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.21%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. Verizon Communications's dividend payout ratio is currently 65.46%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently weighed in on VZ. Scotiabank increased their target price on Verizon Communications from $47.50 to $48.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Argus upgraded shares of Verizon Communications to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. TD Cowen upgraded shares of Verizon Communications to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. DZ Bank raised shares of Verizon Communications from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $40.00 price target for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. They issued a "market perform" rating and a $48.00 price target on the stock. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock 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).