German American Bancorp Inc. Sells 334 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

German American Bancorp Inc. decreased its holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 4.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 8,053 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 334 shares during the quarter. German American Bancorp Inc.’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $322,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 363,824,525 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $14,549,343,000 after purchasing an additional 5,697,337 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in Verizon Communications by 7.3% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 108,694,230 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $4,346,682,000 after purchasing an additional 7,421,148 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 96,823,092 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $3,862,441,000 after purchasing an additional 998,847 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter valued at $2,300,846,000. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter worth $1,083,337,000. Institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE VZ opened at $42.55 on Tuesday. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12 month low of $37.59 and a 12 month high of $47.36. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $42.72 and a 200-day moving average of $42.08. The company has a current ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. The company has a market capitalization of $179.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.28, a P/E/G ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.41.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.08 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.37%. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is currently 65.46%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently weighed in on VZ. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $45.00 price objective (up previously from $42.00) on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Tuesday, March 25th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price objective on Verizon Communications from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Verizon Communications from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 13th. Tigress Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $55.00 price objective on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Wolfe Research lowered Verizon Communications from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $46.82.

Insider Buying and Selling at Verizon Communications

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 value of $810,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 45,675 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,851,664.50. The trade was a 30.45 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, 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 owns 14,459 shares in the company, valued at approximately $633,159.61. This represents a 40.88 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 49,085 shares of company stock valued at $2,020,895 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.02% of the company’s stock.

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).