Norden Group LLC Sells 2,086 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Norden Group LLC reduced its holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 5.6% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 35,171 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 2,086 shares during the period. Norden Group LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $1,326,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of VZ. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA boosted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 627.8% in the 4th quarter. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA now owns 655 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 565 shares during the period. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. 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 worth $33,000 after buying an additional 488 shares in the last quarter. HBC Financial Services PLLC lifted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 320.0% in the 3rd quarter. HBC Financial Services PLLC now owns 1,050 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 800 shares during the period. Finally, Cetera Trust Company N.A acquired a new stake in Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter worth $37,000. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Verizon Communications Stock Down 1.2 %

Shares of NYSE VZ traded down $0.50 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $39.59. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 7,618,138 shares, compared to its average volume of 20,001,922. The stock has a market capitalization of $166.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.85, a PEG ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 0.41. Verizon Communications Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $30.14 and a fifty-two week high of $43.42. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $40.45 and a 200-day simple moving average of $38.67. The company has a current ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.15 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.12 by $0.03. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 20.41% and a net margin of 8.44%. The company had revenue of $33 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $33.23 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.20 EPS. Verizon Communications’s revenue for the quarter was up .3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.6 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.72%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 9th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is currently 99.25%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VZ has been the subject of several recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $40.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 23rd. KeyCorp boosted their price target on Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 30th. Redburn Atlantic raised shares of Verizon Communications from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $33.00 to $39.00 in a report on Friday, March 22nd. Finally, Tigress Financial upped their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 25th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $44.21.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 24,000 shares of Verizon Communications stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.80, for a total value of $979,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 35,201 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,436,200.80. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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).