Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Shares Sold by Bradley Foster & Sargent Inc. CT

Bradley Foster & Sargent Inc. CT lowered its holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 8.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 40,024 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 3,732 shares during the period. Bradley Foster & Sargent Inc. CT’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $1,601,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VZ. PYA Waltman Capital LLC grew its stake in Verizon Communications by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. PYA Waltman Capital LLC now owns 26,752 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,070,000 after purchasing an additional 479 shares in the last quarter. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 49.0% in the 4th quarter. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC now owns 34,234 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $1,369,000 after buying an additional 11,254 shares during the period. Compass Capital Corp MA ADV acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter worth about $328,000. Trinity Legacy Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 4.1% during the fourth quarter. Trinity Legacy Partners LLC now owns 55,837 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $2,233,000 after buying an additional 2,194 shares during the period. Finally, Lakeside Advisors INC. raised its holdings in Verizon Communications by 14.1% in the fourth quarter. Lakeside Advisors INC. now owns 5,485 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $219,000 after acquiring an additional 676 shares in the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Verizon Communications Trading Up 0.7 %

NYSE:VZ opened at $42.77 on Friday. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12-month low of $37.58 and a 12-month high of $45.36. The company has a current ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $39.91 and its 200-day simple moving average is $41.61. The firm has a market cap of $180.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.33, a PEG ratio of 4.40 and a beta of 0.45.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 24th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.10 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 business earned $1.08 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, January 10th were issued a dividend of $0.6775 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 10th. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.34%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is currently 65.46%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have commented on VZ. Wolfe Research boosted their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Scotiabank boosted their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $47.50 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on Verizon Communications in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $48.00 price target on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price objective on Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $42.00 in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Argus raised Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Ten 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 company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $46.08.

Insider Activity at Verizon Communications

In other Verizon Communications news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 8,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 owns 6,590 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $262,809.20. This trade 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 the SEC website. Insiders sold a total of 39,085 shares of company stock worth $1,582,995 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.02% of the company’s stock.

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).