Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Shares Sold by Keybank National Association OH

Keybank National Association OH decreased its position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 3.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 668,340 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 20,698 shares during the quarter. Keybank National Association OH’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $26,727,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in Verizon Communications by 7.3% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 108,694,230 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $4,346,682,000 after acquiring an additional 7,421,148 shares during the period. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund bought a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the third quarter valued at approximately $177,799,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 3,519,258 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 77.1% in the 3rd 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 during the last quarter. Finally, DJE Kapital AG acquired a new position in Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $88,078,000. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Verizon Communications

In other news, EVP Vandana Venkatesh sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.79, for a total transaction of $437,900.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 14,459 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $633,159.61. This represents a 40.88 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Kyle Malady sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 owns 45,675 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,851,664.50. This trade represents a 30.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 49,085 shares of company stock valued at $2,020,895. Insiders own 0.02% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VZ has been the topic of several analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Tigress Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $55.00 target price on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Thursday, January 30th. DZ Bank raised Verizon Communications from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $40.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $42.00 in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Scotiabank lifted their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.50 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $46.11.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

Shares of VZ stock opened at $42.87 on Wednesday. Verizon Communications Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $37.59 and a fifty-two week high of $45.36. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $40.34 and its two-hundred day moving average is $41.76. 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 firm has a market cap of $180.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.35, a PEG ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.45.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 24th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.10 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 company posted $1.08 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.6775 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.32%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is currently 65.46%.

Verizon Communications 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).