Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Shares Sold by Cutter & CO Brokerage Inc.

Cutter & CO Brokerage Inc. cut its position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 12.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 23,856 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 3,440 shares during the period. Cutter & CO Brokerage Inc.’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $899,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Naples Global Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 5.6% in the third quarter. Naples Global Advisors LLC now owns 13,018 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $422,000 after buying an additional 696 shares in the last quarter. Ziegler Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 5.0% in the third quarter. Ziegler Capital Management LLC now owns 67,895 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $2,200,000 after purchasing an additional 3,241 shares during the period. Advocate Group LLC lifted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 9.6% during the 3rd quarter. Advocate Group LLC now owns 196,826 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $6,379,000 after buying an additional 17,196 shares during the last quarter. Atlas Brown Inc. lifted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 6.9% during the 3rd quarter. Atlas Brown Inc. now owns 30,439 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $987,000 after buying an additional 1,975 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Piscataqua Savings Bank lifted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 3.2% during the 3rd quarter. Piscataqua Savings Bank now owns 12,812 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $415,000 after buying an additional 400 shares during the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Verizon Communications

In related news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 24,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.80, for a total value of $979,200.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 35,201 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,436,200.80. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. Redburn Atlantic upgraded Verizon Communications from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $33.00 to $39.00 in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $40.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. Citigroup boosted their price target on Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 30th. KeyCorp boosted their price target on Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. Finally, Daiwa Capital Markets upgraded Verizon Communications from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $36.00 to $47.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Verizon Communications presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $44.21.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:VZ traded up $1.09 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $39.69. 25,970,800 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 20,270,385. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $40.53 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $38.38. The company has a market cap of $166.85 billion, a PE ratio of 14.42, a P/E/G ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a current ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12-month low of $30.14 and a 12-month high of $43.42.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.15 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.12 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $33 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.23 billion. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 20.71% and a net margin of 8.67%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up .3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.20 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.58 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The company 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 dividend of $0.665 per share. This represents a $2.66 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.70%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 9th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 96.38%.

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).