Confluence Wealth Services Inc. Reduces Position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Confluence Wealth Services Inc. trimmed its holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 6.3% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 60,289 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 4,086 shares during the period. Confluence Wealth Services Inc.’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $2,362,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. AMF Tjanstepension AB grew its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 58.0% in the third quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 1,756,452 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $78,975,000 after purchasing an additional 644,761 shares during the period. Czech National Bank boosted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 6.9% in the 3rd quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 857,524 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $38,511,000 after purchasing an additional 55,411 shares during the last quarter. Alpha Financial Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $224,000. Diversified Trust Co increased its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 42.3% during the 3rd quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 60,403 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $2,713,000 after buying an additional 17,949 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Foster Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $201,000. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 11,085 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.88, for a total transaction of $453,154.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 14,590 shares in the company, valued at approximately $596,439.20. The trade was a 43.17 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.03% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

Shares of VZ opened at $39.83 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $40.44 and a 200-day simple moving average of $41.54. 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 1 year low of $37.58 and a 1 year high of $45.36. The stock has a market capitalization of $167.65 billion, a PE ratio of 9.62, a PEG ratio of 4.11 and a beta of 0.45.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last posted 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 quarter last year, the firm posted $1.08 EPS. On average, 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 3rd. Shareholders 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 6.80%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 10th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is presently 65.46%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on VZ shares. UBS Group raised their target price on Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $48.00 price objective on the stock. 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 note on Monday, January 27th. Argus raised shares of Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Wolfe Research increased 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 investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Verizon Communications has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $46.08.

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).