Carson Advisory Inc. Trims Holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Carson Advisory Inc. decreased its position in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 2.8% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 25,228 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 732 shares during the quarter. Carson Advisory Inc.’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $1,009,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in VZ. Kirtland Hills Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Kirtland Hills Capital Management LLC now owns 10,968 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $439,000 after purchasing an additional 252 shares during the period. JB Capital LLC raised its holdings in Verizon Communications by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. JB Capital LLC now owns 20,816 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $832,000 after acquiring an additional 258 shares during the period. Curbstone Financial Management Corp lifted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Curbstone Financial Management Corp now owns 34,786 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $1,391,000 after acquiring an additional 262 shares in the last quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC boosted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 9.9% in the fourth quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 2,915 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $117,000 after acquiring an additional 263 shares during the period. Finally, Tower Wealth Partners Inc. grew its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Tower Wealth Partners Inc. now owns 10,483 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $419,000 after purchasing an additional 263 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Stock Up 1.8 %

NYSE VZ opened at $43.68 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $43.06 and a two-hundred day moving average of $42.04. The firm has a market capitalization of $183.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.55, a PEG ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a quick ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52 week low of $37.59 and a 52 week high of $47.36.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 prior year, the company posted $1.08 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be paid a $0.6775 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.20%. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is 65.46%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently commented on VZ shares. Evercore ISI raised Verizon Communications from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $48.00 price target on the stock in a report on Friday. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Tigress Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $55.00 price target on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Thursday, January 30th. TD Cowen upgraded Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price on Verizon Communications from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Verizon Communications has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $46.92.

Insider Transactions at Verizon Communications

In other Verizon Communications news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 8,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.88, for a total transaction of $319,040.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 6,590 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $262,809.20. This trade represents a 54.83 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Vandana Venkatesh sold 10,000 shares of the company’s 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,459 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $633,159.61. The trade was a 40.88 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 49,085 shares of company stock valued at $2,020,895. 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).