Duncker Streett & Co. Inc. Trims Stock Position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Duncker Streett & Co. Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 14.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 10,975 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 1,912 shares during the period. Duncker Streett & Co. Inc.’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $414,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA grew its position in Verizon Communications by 627.8% during the fourth quarter. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA now owns 655 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 565 shares during the period. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC grew its position in Verizon Communications by 130.1% during the fourth quarter. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC now owns 863 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 488 shares during the period. HBC Financial Services PLLC grew its position in Verizon Communications by 320.0% during the third quarter. HBC Financial Services PLLC now owns 1,050 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 800 shares during the period. RVW Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Verizon Communications during the third quarter valued at $36,000. Finally, Financial Management Professionals Inc. grew its position in Verizon Communications by 58.4% during the fourth quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. now owns 1,096 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 404 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Trading Down 0.8 %

VZ stock traded down $0.34 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $39.77. 14,016,776 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 16,262,630. The company has a current ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $40.55 and a 200-day moving average price of $38.16. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1 year low of $30.14 and a 1 year high of $43.42. The firm has a market capitalization of $167.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.41, a P/E/G ratio of 3.27 and a beta of 0.41.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, January 23rd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.08 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.08. The company had revenue of $35.10 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.60 billion. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 8.67% and a return on equity of 20.71%. Verizon Communications’s quarterly revenue was down .6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.19 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 10th will be paid a $0.665 dividend. This represents a $2.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.69%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 9th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 96.38%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently commented on VZ shares. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $37.00 to $43.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $40.00 to $44.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. KeyCorp lifted their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. Redburn Atlantic upgraded shares of Verizon Communications from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $33.00 to $39.00 in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. Finally, Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $48.00 target price on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $44.50.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 24,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.80, for a total value of $979,200.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 35,201 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,436,200.80. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.03% 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).