USS Investment Management Ltd Lowers Stock Holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

USS Investment Management Ltd trimmed its stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 2.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,543,546 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 32,294 shares during the period. USS Investment Management Ltd’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $61,780,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Mainstream Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Graney & King LLC purchased a new stake in Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Compass Financial Services Inc purchased a new stake in Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Banque Transatlantique SA purchased a new stake in Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, Hager Investment Management Services LLC purchased a new stake in Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $38,000. 62.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.48, for a total value of $212,400.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 36,508 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,550,859.84. This represents a 12.05% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 14,459 shares in the company, valued at approximately $633,159.61. This represents a 40.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 31,500 shares of company stock valued at $1,376,300 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. StockNews.com cut shares of Verizon Communications from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued 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, March 25th. Evercore ISI raised shares of Verizon Communications from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $48.00 price target for the company in a report on Friday, April 11th. DZ Bank raised shares of Verizon Communications from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $40.00 price target for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Wolfe Research cut shares of Verizon Communications from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $47.41.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

VZ opened at $44.30 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. The company has a market cap of $186.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.70, a PEG ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.39. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52-week low of $37.59 and a 52-week high of $47.36. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $43.62 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $42.06.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.19 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.15 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $33.50 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $33.31 billion. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 12.99% and a return on equity of 19.80%. Equities analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 10th were paid a $0.6775 dividend. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.12%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 10th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is currently 64.52%.

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).