Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Stock Position Cut by Krane Funds Advisors LLC

Krane Funds Advisors LLC decreased its position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 6.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 10,603 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 755 shares during the quarter. Krane Funds Advisors LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $424,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. U S Wealth Group LLC. acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter worth about $2,175,000. Twin Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 5.0% in the fourth quarter. Twin Capital Management Inc. now owns 129,001 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $5,159,000 after acquiring an additional 6,109 shares during the last quarter. Certior Financial Group LLC bought a new position in Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $650,000. Polymer Capital Management US LLC bought a new position in Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter valued at about $402,000. Finally, Ilmarinen Mutual Pension Insurance Co raised its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 31.9% in the fourth quarter. Ilmarinen Mutual Pension Insurance Co now owns 600,000 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $23,994,000 after purchasing an additional 145,000 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $45.00 price objective (up previously from $42.00) on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. Wolfe Research downgraded shares of Verizon Communications from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. UBS Group upped their price objective 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. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price 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. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Verizon Communications from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $46.82.

Verizon Communications Trading Down 5.5 %

Shares of NYSE VZ opened at $43.11 on Monday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $42.68 and its 200 day simple moving average is $42.09. 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 fifty-two week low of $37.59 and a fifty-two week high of $47.36. The firm has a market capitalization of $181.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.41, a P/E/G ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.41.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last released 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 net margin of 12.99% and a return on equity of 19.80%. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.08 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be paid a $0.6775 dividend. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.29%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is presently 65.46%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 11,085 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.88, for a total transaction of $453,154.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 14,590 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $596,439.20. This represents a 43.17 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Vandana Venkatesh sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 14,459 shares in the company, valued at approximately $633,159.61. The trade was a 40.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 49,085 shares of company stock worth $2,020,895. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

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).