S.A. Mason LLC Reduces Stock Position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

S.A. Mason LLC cut its stake in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 12.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,729 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 971 shares during the period. S.A. Mason LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $254,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of VZ. CGC Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in Verizon Communications during the second quarter valued at approximately $32,000. HBC Financial Services PLLC grew its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 320.0% during the 3rd quarter. HBC Financial Services PLLC now owns 1,050 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 800 shares during the period. True Wealth Design LLC bought a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter valued at $42,000. Financial Management Professionals Inc. increased its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 58.4% in the 4th quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. now owns 1,096 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 404 shares in the last quarter. Finally, RVW Wealth LLC bought a new position in Verizon Communications in the 3rd quarter worth $36,000. 62.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Verizon Communications Trading Up 1.7 %

Shares of Verizon Communications stock opened at $41.54 on Thursday. Verizon Communications Inc. has a twelve month low of $30.14 and a twelve month high of $43.21. The company has a quick ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $40.52 and a 200-day moving average price of $37.31. The firm has a market cap of $174.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.05, a PEG ratio of 3.31 and a beta of 0.40.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 23rd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.08 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.08. The business had revenue of $35.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $34.60 billion. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 20.71% and a net margin of 8.67%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down .6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.19 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.665 per share. This represents a $2.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.40%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 9th. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is 96.38%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have commented on the company. KeyCorp upped their price target on Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $37.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. Redburn Atlantic raised shares of Verizon Communications from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $33.00 to $39.00 in a report on Friday, March 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 20th. Finally, Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Verizon Communications from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $46.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 4th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $43.86.

Insider Buying and Selling at Verizon Communications

In related news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 24,000 shares of Verizon Communications stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.80, for a total value of $979,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 35,201 shares in the company, valued at $1,436,200.80. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.02% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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).