Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Stake Lowered by Wrapmanager Inc.

Wrapmanager Inc. trimmed its position in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 11.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 37,635 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 4,817 shares during the period. Wrapmanager Inc.’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $1,505,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Austin Private Wealth LLC boosted its stake in Verizon Communications by 3.0% in the third quarter. Austin Private Wealth LLC now owns 8,450 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $379,000 after buying an additional 243 shares in the last quarter. Cary Street Partners Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 3.4% in the 3rd quarter. Cary Street Partners Asset Management LLC now owns 7,628 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $343,000 after purchasing an additional 249 shares in the last quarter. First Personal Financial Services lifted its stake in Verizon Communications by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. First Personal Financial Services now owns 91,092 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $4,091,000 after purchasing an additional 250 shares during the last quarter. Encompass Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in Verizon Communications by 2.0% in the third quarter. Encompass Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 12,505 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $562,000 after buying an additional 250 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Dallas Securities Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 0.8% during the third quarter. First Dallas Securities Inc. now owns 31,728 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,425,000 after buying an additional 257 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 20,000 shares of the company’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 transaction of $810,800.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 45,675 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,851,664.50. This represents a 30.45 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 39,085 shares of company stock valued at $1,582,995. 0.02% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

NYSE VZ opened at $43.31 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $182.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.46, a PEG ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $39.95 and a 200 day simple moving average of $41.65. 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.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 period in the prior year, the company posted $1.08 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 10th were paid a dividend of $0.6775 per share. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.26%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 10th. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is 65.46%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the company. DZ Bank upgraded Verizon Communications from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $40.00 price target on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Scotiabank raised their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $47.50 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $48.00 price objective on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $42.00 in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, TD Cowen upgraded Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $46.08.

Verizon Communications Company 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).