Certuity LLC Has $8.93 Million Holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Certuity LLC decreased its position in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 0.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 223,329 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 1,822 shares during the quarter. Verizon Communications accounts for approximately 1.0% of Certuity LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 25th largest position. Certuity LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $8,931,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. AMF Tjanstepension AB increased its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 58.0% in the 3rd quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 1,756,452 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $78,975,000 after acquiring an additional 644,761 shares in the last quarter. Alpha Financial Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the third quarter valued at about $224,000. Redhawk Wealth Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Verizon Communications by 19.5% in the third quarter. Redhawk Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 7,302 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $328,000 after purchasing an additional 1,194 shares during the last quarter. MEAG MUNICH ERGO Kapitalanlagegesellschaft mbH raised its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 23.1% in the 3rd quarter. MEAG MUNICH ERGO Kapitalanlagegesellschaft mbH now owns 5,457 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $245,000 after purchasing an additional 1,024 shares during the period. Finally, Procyon Advisors LLC raised its stake in Verizon Communications by 16.2% in the 3rd quarter. Procyon Advisors LLC now owns 41,188 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $1,850,000 after acquiring an additional 5,741 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Verizon Communications

In related news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 8,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.88, for a total transaction of $319,040.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 6,590 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $262,809.20. This represents a 54.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 39,085 shares of company stock worth $1,582,995. Corporate insiders own 0.02% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

VZ has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. DZ Bank raised shares of Verizon Communications from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $40.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Argus upgraded Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. TD Cowen raised shares of Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $42.00 in a report on Friday, January 24th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $46.08.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

VZ stock opened at $40.48 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $170.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.17 and a beta of 0.45. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52-week low of $37.58 and a 52-week high of $45.36. The business has a fifty day moving average of $40.10 and a two-hundred day moving average of $41.56. The company has a quick ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last announced 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 return on equity of 19.80% and a net margin of 12.99%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.08 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, January 10th were given a $0.6775 dividend. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.70%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 10th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 65.46%.

About Verizon Communications

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).