Teacher Retirement System of Texas Trims Position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Teacher Retirement System of Texas lowered its stake in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 10.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,821,069 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 210,657 shares during the quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas’ holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $72,825,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Swedbank AB increased its stake in Verizon Communications by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 5,174,541 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $232,389,000 after buying an additional 39,403 shares during the period. Prospera Financial Services Inc boosted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 29.4% in the third quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc now owns 149,156 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $6,700,000 after acquiring an additional 33,900 shares in the last quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 21.0% during the third quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 36,872 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,665,000 after acquiring an additional 6,388 shares during the period. Premier Fund Managers Ltd purchased a new position in Verizon Communications during the third quarter worth about $8,122,000. Finally, Prospera Private Wealth LLC lifted its position in Verizon Communications by 15.7% in the third quarter. Prospera Private Wealth LLC now owns 47,999 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $2,156,000 after purchasing an additional 6,506 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Trading Down 0.7 %

Verizon Communications stock opened at $43.92 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $184.90 billion, a PE ratio of 10.61, a P/E/G ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.41. 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 has a 50-day moving average price of $41.30 and a 200 day moving average price of $41.98. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52 week low of $37.59 and a 52 week high of $47.36.

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 last year, the business posted $1.08 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.6775 per share. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.17%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 65.46%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have issued reports on VZ. Argus upgraded Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on Verizon Communications from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective on Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $42.00 in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Tigress Financial restated a “buy” rating and set a $55.00 target price on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, DZ Bank raised shares of Verizon Communications from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $40.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Verizon Communications presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $46.11.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Vandana Venkatesh sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.79, for a total transaction of $437,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 14,459 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $633,159.61. This represents a 40.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Kyle Malady sold 8,000 shares of Verizon Communications stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.88, for a total transaction of $319,040.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 6,590 shares in the company, valued at approximately $262,809.20. This trade represents a 54.83 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 49,085 shares of company stock valued at $2,020,895 over the last quarter. 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).