Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Shares Sold by Tacita Capital Inc

Tacita Capital Inc lessened its position in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 32.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 992 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 475 shares during the period. Tacita Capital Inc’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $40,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VZ. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new position in Verizon Communications during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Verizon Communications by 69.6% during the 4th quarter. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 780 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 320 shares in the last quarter. Compass Financial Services Inc acquired a new position in Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. Hager Investment Management Services LLC acquired a new position in Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter worth approximately $38,000. Finally, Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 655.5% in the 4th 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. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on VZ shares. Argus upgraded shares of Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Tigress Financial restated a “buy” rating and issued a $55.00 target price on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Thursday, January 30th. TD Cowen upgraded shares of Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Verizon Communications from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 16th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Verizon Communications currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $46.11.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Vandana Venkatesh sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.79, for a total value of $437,900.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,459 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $633,159.61. This represents a 40.88 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Kyle Malady sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.54, for a total transaction of $810,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 45,675 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,851,664.50. The trade was a 30.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 49,085 shares of company stock worth $2,020,895 in the last 90 days. 0.02% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Verizon Communications Stock Up 1.6 %

Shares of Verizon Communications stock opened at $43.81 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $184.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.58, a PEG ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a current ratio of 0.63. Verizon Communications Inc. has a one year low of $37.58 and a one year high of $45.36. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $40.28 and a two-hundred day moving average of $41.75.

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

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be issued a $0.6775 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.19%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is presently 65.46%.

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).