Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Position Cut by First Bank & Trust

First Bank & Trust trimmed its holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 1.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 108,832 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 1,678 shares during the quarter. Verizon Communications comprises 0.8% of First Bank & Trust’s portfolio, making the stock its 22nd largest holding. First Bank & Trust’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $4,352,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VZ. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new position in Verizon Communications during the 3rd quarter valued at $31,000. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 69.6% in the fourth 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. Compass Financial Services Inc acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter worth $33,000. Accordant Advisory Group Inc increased its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 137.6% in the third quarter. Accordant Advisory Group Inc now owns 777 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 450 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hager Investment Management Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter worth $38,000. 62.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have commented on VZ. Scotiabank increased 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 report on Monday, January 27th. Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on Verizon Communications in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $48.00 price target on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on Verizon Communications from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Verizon Communications from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 16th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $46.08.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

Shares of Verizon Communications stock opened at $42.04 on Thursday. 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 52 week low of $37.58 and a 52 week high of $45.36. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $39.89 and a two-hundred day moving average of $41.58. The stock has a market capitalization of $176.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.15, a PEG ratio of 4.28 and a beta of 0.45.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 24th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.10 EPS 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 prior year, the firm posted $1.08 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, January 10th were paid a $0.6775 dividend. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.45%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 10th. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is presently 65.46%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 8,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were 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 directly owns 6,590 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $262,809.20. This represents a 54.83 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 39,085 shares of company stock valued at $1,582,995. Company insiders own 0.02% of the company’s stock.

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).