Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Shares Sold by MML Investors Services LLC

MML Investors Services LLC decreased its stake in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 1.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,439,585 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 18,273 shares during the period. MML Investors Services LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $57,569,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. McIlrath & Eck LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 15.9% during the third quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 12,244 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $550,000 after purchasing an additional 1,680 shares during the last quarter. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. increased its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 5.1% in the third quarter. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. now owns 7,133 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $320,000 after acquiring an additional 346 shares in the last quarter. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 5.3% during the third quarter. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC now owns 16,327 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $733,000 after acquiring an additional 819 shares during the period. Te Ahumairangi Investment Management Ltd boosted its stake in Verizon Communications by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. Te Ahumairangi Investment Management Ltd now owns 758,019 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $33,850,000 after purchasing an additional 9,846 shares during the period. Finally, Chelsea Counsel Co. grew its position in Verizon Communications by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. Chelsea Counsel Co. now owns 31,420 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,411,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares in the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VZ has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Tigress Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and set 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 report on Wednesday, January 15th. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $45.00 price target (up from $42.00) on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. Oppenheimer increased their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. Finally, Argus upgraded shares of Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $46.92.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Verizon Communications news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 8,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 6,590 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $262,809.20. This represents a 54.83 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Vandana Venkatesh sold 10,000 shares of Verizon Communications stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.79, for a total value of $437,900.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,459 shares in the company, 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 quarter, insiders have sold 49,085 shares of company stock valued at $2,020,895. 0.02% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Verizon Communications Trading Up 0.9 %

NYSE:VZ opened at $44.01 on Friday. 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’s 50 day moving average is $43.46 and its 200-day moving average is $42.01. The firm has a market cap of $185.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.63, a P/E/G ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.41. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12 month low of $37.59 and a 12 month high of $47.36.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last released its earnings results 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 return on equity of 19.80% and a net margin of 12.99%. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.08 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Stockholders 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.16%. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is 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).