Harrington Investments INC Cuts Stock Position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Harrington Investments INC trimmed its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 3.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 40,113 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 1,271 shares during the period. Harrington Investments INC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $1,512,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Ossiam boosted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 658.6% in the second quarter. Ossiam now owns 1,361,200 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $50,623,000 after buying an additional 1,181,766 shares during the period. Portland Investment Counsel Inc. lifted its position in Verizon Communications by 173.7% during the 3rd quarter. Portland Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 652,169 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $21,137,000 after acquiring an additional 413,869 shares in the last quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC boosted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 127,632 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $5,131,000 after acquiring an additional 1,616 shares during the period. 180 Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in Verizon Communications by 6.2% in the third quarter. 180 Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 51,757 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $1,677,000 after acquiring an additional 3,020 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fidelity D & D Bancorp Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the third quarter worth $306,000. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:VZ opened at $40.88 on Wednesday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $40.49 and its two-hundred day moving average is $37.26. The company has a market cap of $171.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.31 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a quick ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12-month low of $30.14 and a 12-month high of $43.21.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 23rd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.08 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.08. The firm had revenue of $35.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.60 billion. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 8.67% and a return on equity of 20.71%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down .6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.19 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 10th will be given a $0.665 dividend. This represents a $2.66 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.51%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 9th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is 96.38%.

Insider Transactions at Verizon Communications

In other Verizon Communications news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.33, for a total transaction of $604,950.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 59,201 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,387,576.33. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.02% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have weighed in on VZ shares. Tigress Financial raised their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 25th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Verizon Communications from $40.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Verizon Communications from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $46.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 4th. StockNews.com cut shares of Verizon Communications from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 31st. Finally, UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $37.00 to $43.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Verizon Communications has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $43.86.

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).