Cutter & CO Brokerage Inc. Sells 767 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Cutter & CO Brokerage Inc. reduced its position in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 3.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 20,775 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 767 shares during the period. Cutter & CO Brokerage Inc.’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $831,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of VZ. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new stake in Verizon Communications in the 3rd quarter valued at $31,000. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 69.6% in the 4th quarter. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 780 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 320 shares during the period. Compass Financial Services Inc bought a new stake in Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. Hager Investment Management Services LLC bought a new stake in Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter valued at $38,000. Finally, Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 655.5% in the 4th quarter. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 967 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 839 shares during the period. 62.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Verizon Communications news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 8,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.88, for a total transaction of $319,040.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 6,590 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $262,809.20. This represents a 54.83 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders have sold a total of 39,085 shares of company stock valued at $1,582,995 in the last 90 days. 0.02% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Verizon Communications Trading Up 0.9 %

Shares of Verizon Communications stock opened at $43.73 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $184.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a quick ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $40.01 and a 200 day simple moving average of $41.67. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12-month low of $37.58 and a 12-month high of $45.36.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last announced its earnings results 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 return on equity of 19.80% and a net margin of 12.99%. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.08 EPS. Research analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 10th were issued a dividend of $0.6775 per share. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.20%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 10th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is currently 65.46%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. Argus raised shares of Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Verizon Communications from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 16th. Wolfe Research increased their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $51.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Scotiabank increased their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $47.50 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $46.08.

About Verizon Communications

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).