Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Shares Sold by S.A. Mason LLC

S.A. Mason LLC lowered its position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 12.6% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 6,729 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 971 shares during the quarter. S.A. Mason LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $254,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. CGC Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $32,000. HBC Financial Services PLLC grew its holdings in Verizon Communications by 320.0% during the third quarter. HBC Financial Services PLLC now owns 1,050 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 800 shares during the period. RVW Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Verizon Communications in the third quarter worth $36,000. Financial Management Professionals Inc. lifted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 58.4% in the fourth quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. now owns 1,096 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 404 shares during the period. Finally, True Wealth Design LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter worth $42,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

NYSE VZ opened at $41.54 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47. The stock has a market cap of $174.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.31 and a beta of 0.40. Verizon Communications Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $30.14 and a fifty-two week high of $43.21. The business has a fifty day moving average of $40.52 and a 200-day moving average of $37.31.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, January 23rd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.08 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.08. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 8.67% and a return on equity of 20.71%. The firm had revenue of $35.10 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.60 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.19 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down .6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 10th will be given a dividend of $0.665 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 9th. This represents a $2.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.40%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 96.38%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 15,000 shares of Verizon Communications stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.33, for a total value of $604,950.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 59,201 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,387,576.33. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.02% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on VZ shares. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Verizon Communications from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $46.00 price target for the company in a report on Thursday, January 4th. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $43.00 target price on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Tuesday, December 19th. KeyCorp lifted their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. Redburn Atlantic upgraded Verizon Communications from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $33.00 to $39.00 in a report on Friday, March 22nd. Finally, Daiwa Capital Markets raised Verizon Communications from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $36.00 to $47.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Verizon Communications presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $43.86.

About Verizon Communications

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).