Edgar Lomax Co. VA Sells 34,620 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Edgar Lomax Co. VA lowered its stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 1.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,797,786 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 34,620 shares during the quarter. Verizon Communications comprises 4.6% of Edgar Lomax Co. VA’s portfolio, making the stock its 2nd largest position. Edgar Lomax Co. VA’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $71,893,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of VZ. Mainstream Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 320 shares during the last quarter. Graney & King LLC acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Compass Financial Services Inc purchased a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, Hager Investment Management Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter worth approximately $38,000. 62.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Vandana Venkatesh sold 10,000 shares of the business’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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 14,459 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $633,159.61. The trade was a 40.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Kyle Malady sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, January 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.54, for a total value of $810,800.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 45,675 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,851,664.50. The trade was a 30.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 49,085 shares of company stock worth $2,020,895. 0.02% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com cut shares of Verizon Communications from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 13th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. DZ Bank upgraded Verizon Communications from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $40.00 price target for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Argus raised Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $45.00 target price (up previously from $42.00) on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $46.92.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

Shares of VZ opened at $44.01 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a current ratio of 0.63. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1 year low of $37.59 and a 1 year high of $47.36. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $43.46 and a 200-day moving average of $42.03. The company has a market cap of $185.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.41.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last posted its earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.10 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 firm posted $1.08 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate 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 dividend of $0.6775 per share. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.16%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is currently 65.46%.

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).