Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Shares Sold by New York State Teachers Retirement System

New York State Teachers Retirement System lessened its stake in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 4.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,721,816 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 179,082 shares during the period. New York State Teachers Retirement System owned about 0.09% of Verizon Communications worth $148,835,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Austin Private Wealth LLC raised its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 3.0% during the 3rd quarter. Austin Private Wealth LLC now owns 8,450 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $379,000 after purchasing an additional 243 shares in the last quarter. Cary Street Partners Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Verizon Communications by 3.4% in the 3rd quarter. Cary Street Partners Asset Management LLC now owns 7,628 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $343,000 after acquiring an additional 249 shares during the period. Western Financial Corp CA grew its holdings in Verizon Communications by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. Western Financial Corp CA now owns 17,491 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $786,000 after buying an additional 250 shares in the last quarter. First Personal Financial Services grew its holdings in Verizon Communications by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. First Personal Financial Services now owns 91,092 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $4,091,000 after buying an additional 250 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Encompass Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Verizon Communications by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. Encompass Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 12,505 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $562,000 after buying an additional 250 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Trading Up 1.3 %

NYSE VZ opened at $41.06 on Friday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $39.99 and a 200 day simple moving average of $41.56. Verizon Communications Inc. has a one year low of $37.58 and a one year high of $45.36. The stock has a market capitalization of $172.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.92, a P/E/G ratio of 4.17 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.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last released its 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 return on equity of 19.80% and a net margin of 12.99%. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.08 EPS. Research analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 10th. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.60%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is currently 65.46%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Verizon Communications

In other Verizon Communications news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 8,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.88, for a total value of $319,040.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 6,590 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $262,809.20. This trade represents a 54.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 39,085 shares of company stock valued at $1,582,995. Company insiders own 0.02% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently issued reports on VZ shares. 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 target price on the stock. Scotiabank increased their target price on Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $47.50 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. StockNews.com lowered Verizon Communications from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 16th. Argus raised Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, DZ Bank raised Verizon Communications from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $40.00 target price on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus 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).