Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Reduces Stock Holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. trimmed its position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 5.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 93,005,087 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 5,022,455 shares during the quarter. Verizon Communications comprises 0.9% of Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 17th biggest position. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. owned 2.21% of Verizon Communications worth $3,472,520,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in VZ. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA boosted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 627.8% during the 4th quarter. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA now owns 655 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 565 shares during the period. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC grew its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 130.1% in the fourth quarter. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC now owns 863 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 488 shares in the last quarter. HBC Financial Services PLLC raised its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 320.0% in the 3rd quarter. HBC Financial Services PLLC now owns 1,050 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 800 shares during the period. Finally, Cetera Trust Company N.A acquired a new position in Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter worth about $37,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

Shares of VZ traded up $0.25 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $39.56. 4,782,194 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 19,677,600. The firm has a market capitalization of $166.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.63, a P/E/G ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.42. Verizon Communications Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $30.14 and a fifty-two week high of $43.42. The business’s 50 day moving average is $40.30 and its two-hundred day moving average is $39.01. 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 posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.15 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.12 by $0.03. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 20.41% and a net margin of 8.44%. The company had revenue of $33 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $33.23 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.20 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.6 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 10th were given a dividend of $0.665 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, April 9th. This represents a $2.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.72%. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is currently 99.25%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.33, for a total transaction of $604,950.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 59,201 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,387,576.33. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have issued reports on VZ shares. Tigress Financial boosted their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 25th. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 26th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $40.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 23rd. StockNews.com upgraded Verizon Communications from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday. Finally, Daiwa Capital Markets upgraded Verizon Communications from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $36.00 to $47.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $44.21.

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).