Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) EVP Vandana Venkatesh Sells 10,000 Shares

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) EVP Vandana Venkatesh sold 10,000 shares of Verizon Communications stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.79, for a total value of $437,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,459 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $633,159.61. This represents a 40.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink.

Verizon Communications Stock Up 0.1 %

VZ stock opened at $43.21 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $181.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.44, a PEG ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a current ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. Verizon Communications Inc. has a twelve month low of $37.58 and a twelve month high of $45.36. The company’s 50 day moving average is $40.14 and its two-hundred day moving average is $41.69.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last announced 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 return on equity of 19.80% and a net margin of 12.99%. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.08 EPS. Research analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 10th were issued a $0.6775 dividend. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.27%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 10th. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is currently 65.46%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in VZ. Mainstream Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new stake in Verizon Communications during the 3rd quarter worth $31,000. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. grew its position in Verizon Communications by 69.6% during the 4th quarter. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 780 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 320 shares during the last quarter. Capital A Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Graney & King LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Tigress Financial reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $55.00 price objective on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. DZ Bank raised shares of Verizon Communications from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $40.00 price target for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. UBS Group upped their price objective on Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price on Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $42.00 in a report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on Verizon Communications in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $48.00 target price for the company. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus 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).