Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Holdings Trimmed by Todd Asset Management LLC

Todd Asset Management LLC trimmed its position in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 5.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 302,056 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 16,317 shares during the period. Todd Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $11,388,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Verizon Communications by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC now owns 69,620 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $2,256,000 after buying an additional 368 shares in the last quarter. Kowal Investment Group LLC boosted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 16.9% during the third quarter. Kowal Investment Group LLC now owns 18,280 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $592,000 after buying an additional 2,649 shares during the last quarter. MEAG MUNICH ERGO Kapitalanlagegesellschaft mbH bought a new position in Verizon Communications during the third quarter worth about $154,000. Buffington Mohr McNeal raised its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 30.1% during the third quarter. Buffington Mohr McNeal now owns 7,154 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $232,000 after purchasing an additional 1,657 shares during the period. Finally, Godsey & Gibb Inc. raised its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 25.6% during the third quarter. Godsey & Gibb Inc. now owns 3,504 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $114,000 after purchasing an additional 714 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 15,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.33, for a total transaction of $604,950.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 59,201 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,387,576.33. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.02% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

Shares of VZ stock traded down $0.04 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $38.89. 13,195,563 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 20,003,748. The company has a market capitalization of $163.70 billion, a PE ratio of 14.51, a PEG ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.42. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12-month low of $30.14 and a 12-month high of $43.42. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $40.32 and its 200-day simple moving average is $38.79. The company has a current ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last issued 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. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 8.44% and a return on equity of 20.41%. The company had revenue of $33 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $33.23 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.20 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.6 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 10th were issued a dividend of $0.665 per share. This represents a $2.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.84%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, April 9th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 99.25%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. StockNews.com raised Verizon Communications from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $40.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 23rd. Redburn Atlantic upgraded Verizon Communications from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $33.00 to $39.00 in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. Barclays boosted their price target on Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 26th. Finally, Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $48.00 price target on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $44.21.

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).