Becker Capital Management Inc. Lowers Stock Holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Becker Capital Management Inc. trimmed its position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 4.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 860,873 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 38,491 shares during the quarter. Verizon Communications makes up approximately 1.1% of Becker Capital Management Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 26th biggest holding. Becker Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $34,426,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Verizon Communications by 1.6% in 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 in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position 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 valued at $4,346,682,000 after acquiring an additional 7,421,148 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Verizon Communications by 1.0% during the fourth 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 acquiring an additional 998,847 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,300,846,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its position in Verizon Communications by 12.4% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 45,043,310 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $1,801,282,000 after acquiring an additional 4,951,733 shares during the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Verizon Communications

In other Verizon Communications news, EVP Vandana Venkatesh sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.79, for a total value of $437,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Kyle Malady sold 8,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.88, for a total value of $319,040.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 6,590 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $262,809.20. The trade was a 54.83 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 23,000 shares of company stock valued at $969,340 over the last 90 days. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Verizon Communications Trading Up 1.3 %

NYSE:VZ opened at $42.94 on Wednesday. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52 week low of $37.59 and a 52 week high of $47.36. The company has a quick ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $43.66 and its 200-day moving average price is $41.96. The stock has a market cap of $184.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.37, a PEG ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.41.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.19 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.15 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $33.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $33.31 billion. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 12.99% and a return on equity of 19.80%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The company 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 $0.6775 dividend. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.31%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is 64.52%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

VZ has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on shares of 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 cut shares of Verizon Communications from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 13th. Tigress Financial raised their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $55.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday. Oppenheimer raised their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Finally, DZ Bank upgraded shares of Verizon Communications from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $40.00 price target on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $47.41.

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).