Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt Has $1.33 Million Position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt cut its stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 2.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 33,327 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 900 shares during the period. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $1,333,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd lifted its position in Verizon Communications by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 772,976 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $30,911,000 after purchasing an additional 17,034 shares during the period. Tandem Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter worth approximately $60,000. Spectrum Asset Management Inc. NB CA lifted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Spectrum Asset Management Inc. NB CA now owns 74,490 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $2,979,000 after acquiring an additional 317 shares during the period. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC bought a new position in Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $6,595,000. Finally, Ledyard National Bank raised its position in Verizon Communications by 5.6% during the fourth quarter. Ledyard National Bank now owns 15,237 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $609,000 after purchasing an additional 811 shares in the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Verizon Communications

In other news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.54, for a total transaction of $810,800.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 45,675 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,851,664.50. This represents a 30.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 39,085 shares of company stock valued at $1,582,995. 0.02% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Verizon Communications Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE VZ opened at $39.95 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $40.36 and its 200-day moving average price is $41.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a current ratio of 0.63. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52-week low of $37.58 and a 52-week high of $45.36. The company has a market capitalization of $168.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.11 and a beta of 0.45.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last released 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 quarter last year, the business posted $1.08 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Cuts Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on VZ shares. UBS Group lifted their price target on Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Argus raised Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. KeyCorp cut shares of Verizon Communications from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, TD Cowen upgraded shares of Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently 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).