Cypress Capital Group Cuts Holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Cypress Capital Group decreased its position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 31.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 30,697 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 14,240 shares during the period. Cypress Capital Group’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $1,228,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Mainstream Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new position in Verizon Communications in the third quarter valued at $31,000. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. increased its holdings 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 valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 320 shares in the last quarter. Compass Financial Services Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, Hager Investment Management Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter valued at about $38,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VZ has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $42.00 in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Scotiabank lifted their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.50 to $48.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday. Wolfe Research lifted their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $51.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $46.11.

Insider Buying and Selling at Verizon Communications

In other news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 11,085 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.88, for a total value of $453,154.80. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 14,590 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $596,439.20. The trade was a 43.17 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Vandana Venkatesh sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.79, for a total transaction of $437,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,459 shares in the company, valued at $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 have sold 49,085 shares of company stock worth $2,020,895 in the last ninety days. 0.02% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

NYSE:VZ opened at $42.87 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 0.63 and a quick ratio of 0.59. The firm has a market capitalization of $180.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.35, a PEG ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.45. The company’s 50-day moving average is $40.34 and its two-hundred day moving average is $41.76. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1-year low of $37.59 and a 1-year high of $45.36.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last posted its earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.10 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.11 by ($0.01). Verizon Communications had a net margin of 12.99% and a return on equity of 19.80%. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.08 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be issued a $0.6775 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.32%. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is 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).