Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Shares Sold by Cibc World Market Inc.

Cibc World Market Inc. cut its holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 3.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,687,789 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 61,228 shares during the period. Cibc World Market Inc.’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $67,495,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in Verizon Communications by 6.2% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 101,273,082 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $4,548,163,000 after purchasing an additional 5,936,009 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its stake in Verizon Communications by 4,520.3% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 4,815,534 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $216,266,000 after acquiring an additional 4,711,309 shares in the last quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund acquired a new stake in Verizon Communications during the 3rd quarter worth $177,799,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its stake in Verizon Communications by 184.3% during the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 5,428,540 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $217,087,000 after acquiring an additional 3,519,258 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 77.1% during the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 6,101,616 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $274,052,000 after purchasing an additional 2,656,396 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Trading Down 2.0 %

Shares of VZ opened at $39.47 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $40.75 and its two-hundred day moving average is $41.60. Verizon Communications Inc. has a twelve month low of $37.58 and a twelve month high of $45.36. The firm has a market capitalization of $166.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.01, a PEG ratio of 3.27 and a beta of 0.46.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.10 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.11 by ($0.01). Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 20.05% and a net margin of 7.30%. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.08 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 10th will be issued a $0.6775 dividend. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 10th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 116.81%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have commented on VZ. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on Verizon Communications from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $48.00 target price on the stock. Scotiabank lifted their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $47.50 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday. Tigress Financial restated a “buy” rating and issued a $55.00 price objective on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Thursday. Finally, DZ Bank upgraded shares of Verizon Communications from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $40.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Verizon Communications presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $46.08.

Insider Transactions at Verizon Communications

In related news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 20,000 shares of Verizon Communications stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 27th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at approximately $1,851,664.50. This trade represents a 30.45 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.02% of the company’s stock.

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).