Kyle Malady Sells 8,000 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Stock

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) CEO Kyle Malady sold 8,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.88, for a total value of $319,040.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 6,590 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $262,809.20. The trade was a 54.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

Kyle Malady also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Wednesday, January 29th, Kyle Malady sold 11,085 shares of Verizon Communications stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.88, for a total value of $453,154.80.
• On Monday, January 27th, Kyle Malady sold 20,000 shares of Verizon Communications stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.54, for a total transaction of $810,800.00.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

VZ stock opened at $39.95 on Friday. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12-month low of $37.58 and a 12-month high of $45.36. The stock has a market capitalization of $168.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.65, a PEG ratio of 4.11 and a beta of 0.45. 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 firm’s 50-day moving average price is $40.36 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $41.53.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last posted its earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.10 earnings per share (EPS) 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 period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.08 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 10th were given a $0.6775 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 10th. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.78%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is 65.46%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Verizon Communications

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Mainstream Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the third quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in Verizon Communications by 69.6% in the fourth quarter. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 780 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 320 shares in the last quarter. Compass Financial Services Inc purchased a new position in Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, Accordant Advisory Group Inc lifted its position in Verizon Communications by 137.6% during the third quarter. Accordant Advisory Group Inc now owns 777 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 450 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

VZ has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. StockNews.com lowered shares of Verizon Communications from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 16th. Scotiabank increased their target price on Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $47.50 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. DZ Bank raised Verizon Communications from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $40.00 price target for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. TD Cowen upgraded Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Finally, Tigress Financial reissued a “buy” rating and set a $55.00 price objective on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $46.08.

Verizon Communications Company 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).