Samalin Investment Counsel LLC Reduces Stock Position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Samalin Investment Counsel LLC lowered its stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 70.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,125 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 12,397 shares during the quarter. Samalin Investment Counsel LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $205,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Mizuho Markets Cayman LP bought a new position in Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter worth approximately $362,000. Mosley Wealth Management raised its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 14.0% during the 4th quarter. Mosley Wealth Management now owns 14,691 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $592,000 after purchasing an additional 1,801 shares during the period. Fox Run Management L.L.C. raised its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 60.7% during the 4th quarter. Fox Run Management L.L.C. now owns 20,386 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $815,000 after purchasing an additional 7,702 shares during the period. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS bought a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter valued at $78,389,000. Finally, Umpqua Bank raised its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 9.7% during the 4th quarter. Umpqua Bank now owns 59,293 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $2,270,000 after purchasing an additional 5,263 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Verizon Communications

In other news, EVP Vandana Venkatesh sold 10,000 shares of the business’s 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 14,459 shares in the company, valued at approximately $633,159.61. The trade was a 40.88 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Kyle Malady sold 20,000 shares of the business’s 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 owns 45,675 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,851,664.50. This represents a 30.45 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 49,085 shares of company stock valued at $2,020,895 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.02% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

VZ stock opened at $44.06 on Monday. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12 month low of $37.59 and a 12 month high of $47.36. The company has a current ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $41.52 and a 200 day moving average price of $42.01. The stock has a market cap of $185.46 billion, a PE ratio of 10.64, a P/E/G ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.41.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last released 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 quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.08 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be given a $0.6775 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.15%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 65.46%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently commented on VZ. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $42.00 in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $48.00 price objective on the stock. TD Cowen upgraded shares of Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Verizon Communications from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 13th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Verizon Communications has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $46.53.

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).