Schwarz Dygos Wheeler Investment Advisors LLC Lowers Stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Schwarz Dygos Wheeler Investment Advisors LLC lessened its stake in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 51.1% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 12,921 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 13,487 shares during the period. Schwarz Dygos Wheeler Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $517,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. First Personal Financial Services raised its holdings in Verizon Communications by 0.3% in the third quarter. First Personal Financial Services now owns 91,092 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $4,091,000 after acquiring an additional 250 shares in the last quarter. Encompass Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. Encompass Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 12,505 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $562,000 after purchasing an additional 250 shares in the last quarter. Kirtland Hills Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Kirtland Hills Capital Management LLC now owns 10,968 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $439,000 after purchasing an additional 252 shares during the last quarter. First Dallas Securities Inc. grew its stake 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 purchasing an additional 257 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JB Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. JB Capital LLC now owns 20,816 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $832,000 after purchasing an additional 258 shares in the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Verizon Communications Stock Up 4.3 %

VZ opened at $46.13 on Monday. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52 week low of $37.59 and a 52 week high of $46.20. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $40.61 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $41.84. 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 $194.20 billion, a PE ratio of 11.14, a P/E/G ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.41.

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

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be issued a $0.6775 dividend. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is 65.46%.

Insider Activity

In other Verizon Communications news, EVP Vandana Venkatesh sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 14,459 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $633,159.61. This trade represents a 40.88 % 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. Also, CEO Kyle Malady sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.54, for a total transaction of $810,800.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 45,675 shares in the company, valued at $1,851,664.50. The trade was a 30.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 49,085 shares of company stock valued at $2,020,895 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.02% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $42.00 in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Tigress Financial reissued a “buy” rating and set a $55.00 target price on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. UBS Group upped their price target on Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Verizon Communications from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Wolfe Research boosted their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $46.11.

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).