LM Advisors LLC Sells 2,941 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

LM Advisors LLC trimmed its holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 9.4% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 28,326 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 2,941 shares during the quarter. LM Advisors LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $1,133,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Mainstream Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 69.6% in 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 during the last quarter. Graney & King LLC purchased a new stake in Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. Compass Financial Services Inc purchased a new stake in Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, Hager Investment Management Services LLC purchased a new stake in Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $38,000. 62.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Verizon Communications

In related news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 45,675 shares in the company, valued at $1,851,664.50. The trade was a 30.45 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Vandana Venkatesh sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,459 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 49,085 shares of company stock valued at $2,020,895. Insiders own 0.02% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on Verizon Communications in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $48.00 price objective for the company. TD Cowen upgraded Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. DZ Bank raised Verizon Communications from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $40.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. StockNews.com cut shares of Verizon Communications from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 13th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $45.00 target price (up previously from $42.00) on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Tuesday. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $46.71.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

NYSE:VZ opened at $44.18 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $185.99 billion, a PE ratio of 10.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.41. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $41.85 and its 200-day moving average price is $42.05. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52 week low of $37.59 and a 52 week high of $47.36. 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 (NYSE:VZ) last released its quarterly 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 net margin of 12.99% and a return on equity of 19.80%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.08 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be given a dividend of $0.6775 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.13%. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is currently 65.46%.

Verizon Communications 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).