Wambolt & Associates LLC Lowers Stock Holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Wambolt & Associates LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 12.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 51,786 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 7,588 shares during the quarter. Wambolt & Associates LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $2,071,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Kirtland Hills Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Verizon Communications by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Kirtland Hills Capital Management LLC now owns 10,968 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $439,000 after purchasing an additional 252 shares in the last quarter. First Dallas Securities Inc. lifted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 0.8% during the third quarter. First Dallas Securities Inc. now owns 31,728 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,425,000 after purchasing an additional 257 shares in the last quarter. JB Capital LLC grew its holdings in Verizon Communications by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. JB Capital LLC now owns 20,816 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $832,000 after purchasing an additional 258 shares in the last quarter. Curbstone Financial Management Corp lifted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Curbstone Financial Management Corp now owns 34,786 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,391,000 after buying an additional 262 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC raised its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 9.9% in the 4th quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 2,915 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $117,000 after purchasing an additional 263 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

NYSE VZ opened at $43.59 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $183.48 billion, a PE ratio of 10.53, a P/E/G ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.41. 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 Inc. has a 12 month low of $37.59 and a 12 month high of $47.36. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $41.63 and its 200 day simple moving average is $42.02.

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

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, April 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.6775 per share. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.22%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is 65.46%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VZ has been the subject of several research analyst reports. StockNews.com lowered Verizon Communications from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 13th. UBS Group upped their price target on Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. DZ Bank upgraded Verizon Communications from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $40.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Scotiabank increased their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.50 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $48.00 price target for the company. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $46.53.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.54, for a total transaction of $810,800.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 45,675 shares in the company, valued at $1,851,664.50. The trade was a 30.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Vandana Venkatesh sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.79, for a total transaction 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 $633,159.61. This represents a 40.88 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 49,085 shares of company stock worth $2,020,895. 0.02% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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).