Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Stake Lowered by Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co.

Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. cut its stake in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 9.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 156,113 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 16,076 shares during the quarter. Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co.’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $5,885,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in VZ. Portland Investment Counsel Inc. grew its holdings in Verizon Communications by 173.7% in the 3rd quarter. Portland Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 652,169 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $21,137,000 after buying an additional 413,869 shares in the last quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC lifted its position in Verizon Communications by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 127,632 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $5,131,000 after purchasing an additional 1,616 shares during the period. 180 Wealth Advisors LLC lifted 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 worth $1,677,000 after purchasing an additional 3,020 shares during the period. GFS Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter worth approximately $212,000. Finally, Fidelity D & D Bancorp Inc. acquired a new stake in Verizon Communications in the third quarter worth approximately $306,000. 62.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Verizon Communications Stock Down 3.8 %

Shares of NYSE VZ traded down $1.52 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $38.97. The company had a trading volume of 28,319,786 shares, compared to its average volume of 19,898,010. Verizon Communications Inc. has a twelve month low of $30.14 and a twelve month high of $43.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a current ratio of 0.69. The stock has a market capitalization of $163.84 billion, a PE ratio of 14.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 0.41. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $40.56 and its 200-day moving average is $38.33.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last posted its earnings results on Monday, April 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.15 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.12 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $33 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $33.23 billion. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 8.67% and a return on equity of 20.71%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up .3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.20 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.665 per share. This represents a $2.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.83%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 9th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 96.38%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Verizon Communications

In other Verizon Communications news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 24,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.80, for a total transaction of $979,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 35,201 shares in the company, valued at $1,436,200.80. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Redburn Atlantic upgraded Verizon Communications from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $33.00 to $39.00 in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. Barclays upped their target price on Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 26th. StockNews.com downgraded Verizon Communications from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. Citigroup upped their target price on Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 30th. Finally, Raymond James increased their price objective on Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $44.50.

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).