Naviter Wealth LLC Decreases Holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Naviter Wealth LLC lowered its position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 2.4% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 46,447 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 1,151 shares during the period. Naviter Wealth LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $1,857,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of VZ. Mainstream Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the third quarter valued at about $31,000. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 69.6% during 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 during the period. Compass Financial Services Inc bought a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, Hager Investment Management Services LLC purchased a new position in Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter valued at about $38,000. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Vandana Venkatesh sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.79, for a total transaction of $437,900.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 14,459 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $633,159.61. This trade represents a 40.88 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Kyle Malady sold 11,085 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.88, for a total transaction of $453,154.80. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 14,590 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $596,439.20. The trade was a 43.17 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 49,085 shares of company stock worth $2,020,895 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.02% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Trading Up 4.3 %

Verizon Communications stock opened at $46.13 on Friday. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12 month low of $37.59 and a 12 month high of $46.20. 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 business’s fifty day simple moving average is $40.61 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $41.83. The company has a market capitalization of $194.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.41.

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

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, April 10th will be given a dividend of $0.6775 per share. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 65.46%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

VZ has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Scotiabank lifted their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.50 to $48.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $48.00 price objective for the company. Argus raised shares of Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Verizon Communications from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $46.11.

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).