Center for Financial Planning Inc. Sells 1,367 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Center for Financial Planning Inc. reduced its holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 13.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 8,842 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 1,367 shares during the quarter. Center for Financial Planning Inc.’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $354,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new stake in Verizon Communications in the third quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. grew its stake 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 valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 320 shares during the period. Compass Financial Services Inc acquired a new stake in Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Accordant Advisory Group Inc grew its stake in Verizon Communications by 137.6% in the third quarter. Accordant Advisory Group Inc now owns 777 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 450 shares during the period. Finally, Hager Investment Management Services LLC acquired a new stake in Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $38,000. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently issued reports on VZ shares. Argus raised Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Tigress Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $55.00 target price on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price on Verizon Communications from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. KeyCorp cut Verizon Communications from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on Verizon Communications in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $48.00 target price on the stock. Ten 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. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $46.08.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

Shares of VZ opened at $41.00 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $172.59 billion, a PE ratio of 9.90, a PEG ratio of 4.17 and a beta of 0.45. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $39.96 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $41.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 0.63 and a quick ratio of 0.59. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1 year low of $37.58 and a 1 year high of $45.36.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 24th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 prior year, the business earned $1.08 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, January 10th were paid a dividend of $0.6775 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 10th. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.61%. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is 65.46%.

Insider Activity at Verizon Communications

In other Verizon Communications news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.54, for a total value of $810,800.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 45,675 shares in the company, valued at $1,851,664.50. This represents a 30.45 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In the last three months, insiders have sold 39,085 shares of company stock worth $1,582,995. 0.02% of the stock is owned by company 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).