F&V Capital Management LLC Sells 2,520 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

F&V Capital Management LLC decreased its position in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 1.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 233,176 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 2,520 shares during the period. Verizon Communications makes up 2.5% of F&V Capital Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 23rd biggest position. F&V Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $9,325,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the 3rd quarter valued at about $31,000. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 69.6% during the fourth quarter. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 780 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 320 shares in the last quarter. Accordant Advisory Group Inc lifted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 137.6% in the third quarter. Accordant Advisory Group Inc now owns 777 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 450 shares in the last quarter. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Verizon Communications by 655.5% during the 4th quarter. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 967 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 839 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in Verizon Communications during the 3rd quarter valued at $44,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Verizon Communications

In related news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.54, for a total value of $810,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 45,675 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,851,664.50. This represents a 30.45 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

VZ stock opened at $40.00 on Tuesday. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1 year low of $37.58 and a 1 year high of $45.36. The firm has a market capitalization of $168.36 billion, a PE ratio of 9.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.11 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 0.63 and a quick ratio of 0.59. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $40.61 and a 200-day simple moving average of $41.57.

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

Verizon Communications Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, January 10th were paid a dividend of $0.6775 per share. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.78%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 10th. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is currently 65.46%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. StockNews.com lowered Verizon Communications from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 16th. Tigress Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $55.00 price objective on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Argus upgraded Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on Verizon Communications in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $48.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Scotiabank raised their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $47.50 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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).