Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Position Reduced by Senator Investment Group LP

Senator Investment Group LP cut its position in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 23.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,640,000 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 489,789 shares during the quarter. Verizon Communications accounts for 1.9% of Senator Investment Group LP’s portfolio, making the stock its 11th largest position. Senator Investment Group LP’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $65,584,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Mainstream Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 69.6% during the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Graney & King LLC acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter worth $32,000. Compass Financial Services Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter worth $33,000. Finally, Hager Investment Management Services LLC acquired 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.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:VZ opened at $44.01 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $185.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.63, a P/E/G ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.41. The business has a 50-day moving average of $43.46 and a two-hundred day moving average of $41.99. Verizon Communications Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $37.59 and a fifty-two week high of $47.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 0.63 and a quick ratio of 0.59.

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 return on equity of 19.80% and a net margin of 12.99%. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.08 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, April 10th will be paid a $0.6775 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.16%. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is presently 65.46%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

VZ has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Evercore ISI upgraded Verizon Communications from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $48.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Friday, April 11th. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $45.00 price target (up previously from $42.00) on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. TD Cowen raised shares of Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. StockNews.com cut shares of Verizon Communications from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on Verizon Communications from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Ten equities 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, Verizon Communications currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $46.92.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 8,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.88, for a total value of $319,040.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 6,590 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $262,809.20. This represents a 54.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Vandana Venkatesh sold 10,000 shares of the business’s 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 directly owns 14,459 shares in the company, valued at $633,159.61. This trade represents a 40.88 % decrease in their position. 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 quarter. 0.02% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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).