Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Position Trimmed by Counterweight Ventures LLC

Counterweight Ventures LLC trimmed its stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 4.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 14,072 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 645 shares during the quarter. Counterweight Ventures LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $563,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in VZ. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the 3rd quarter worth about $31,000. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in Verizon Communications by 69.6% in the fourth quarter. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 780 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 320 shares during the last quarter. Accordant Advisory Group Inc raised its position in Verizon Communications by 137.6% during the third quarter. Accordant Advisory Group Inc now owns 777 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 450 shares in the last quarter. Hager Investment Management Services LLC bought a new stake in Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter worth approximately $38,000. Finally, Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Verizon Communications by 655.5% during the fourth quarter. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 967 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 839 shares in the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

Shares of Verizon Communications stock opened at $39.88 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $167.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.63, a P/E/G ratio of 4.11 and a beta of 0.45. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $40.18 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $41.53. The company has a current ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1-year low of $37.58 and a 1-year high of $45.36.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 24th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.11 by ($0.01). Verizon Communications had a net margin of 12.99% and a return on equity of 19.80%. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.08 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 10th were given a dividend of $0.6775 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 10th. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.80%. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is currently 65.46%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently issued reports on VZ. StockNews.com lowered shares of Verizon Communications from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 16th. DZ Bank raised Verizon Communications from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $40.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Argus upgraded Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. TD Cowen upgraded shares of Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Finally, KeyCorp cut shares of Verizon Communications from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $46.08.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.54, for a total value of $810,800.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 45,675 shares in the company, valued at $1,851,664.50. This represents a 30.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders have sold 39,085 shares of company stock valued at $1,582,995 over the last 90 days. 0.03% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

About Verizon Communications

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).