XTX Topco Ltd Sells 23,231 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

XTX Topco Ltd reduced its stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 71.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 9,352 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after selling 23,231 shares during the quarter. XTX Topco Ltd's holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $374,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VZ. Mainstream Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 69.6% in the 4th quarter. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 780 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 320 shares during the period. Graney & King LLC purchased a new position in Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Compass Financial Services Inc bought a new stake in Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, Hager Investment Management Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter worth $38,000. Institutional investors own 62.06% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 5,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.48, for a total transaction of $212,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 36,508 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,550,859.84. This represents a 12.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Vandana Venkatesh sold 10,000 shares of the 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 14,459 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $633,159.61. This represents a 40.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 54,085 shares of company stock worth $2,233,295 in the last ninety days. 0.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently issued reports on VZ shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price objective on Verizon Communications from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Oppenheimer increased their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Wolfe Research cut shares of Verizon Communications from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. TD Cowen raised shares of Verizon Communications to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Finally, 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 report on Wednesday, January 29th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Verizon Communications presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $47.35.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

VZ traded down $0.90 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $41.91. The stock had a trading volume of 23,350,565 shares, compared to its average volume of 20,151,175. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1 year low of $37.59 and a 1 year high of $47.36. 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 business has a fifty day moving average of $43.64 and a 200 day moving average of $41.98. The company has a market cap of $176.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.41.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.15 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $33.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $33.31 billion. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 12.99% and a return on equity of 19.80%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Investors 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 6.47%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. Verizon Communications's dividend payout ratio 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).