Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Shares Sold by Sawgrass Asset Management LLC

Sawgrass Asset Management LLC lowered its stake in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 39.3% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 13,075 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 8,477 shares during the period. Sawgrass Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $523,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new position in Verizon Communications in the third quarter valued at $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 valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 320 shares during the last quarter. Compass Financial Services Inc purchased a new position in Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter valued at $33,000. Accordant Advisory Group Inc grew its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 137.6% during the third quarter. Accordant Advisory Group Inc now owns 777 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 450 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hager Investment Management Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter worth about $38,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

NYSE:VZ opened at $40.52 on Thursday. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $170.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.79, a PEG ratio of 4.17 and a beta of 0.45. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $40.03 and its 200 day simple moving average is $41.56. Verizon Communications Inc. has a twelve month low of $37.58 and a twelve month high of $45.36.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last posted its earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.10 earnings per share 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 last year, the business posted $1.08 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 10th were issued a $0.6775 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 10th. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.69%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is currently 65.46%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 11,085 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.88, for a total value of $453,154.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 14,590 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $596,439.20. The trade was a 43.17 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders have sold 39,085 shares of company stock worth $1,582,995 in the last quarter. 0.02% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

VZ has been the subject of several recent research reports. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $42.00 in a research note on Friday, January 24th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Verizon Communications from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Wolfe Research increased their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $48.00 price objective for the company. Ten equities research 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. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $46.08.

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).