Glenview Trust co Has $4.76 Million Position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Glenview Trust co decreased its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 13.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 119,102 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 17,810 shares during the quarter. Glenview Trust co’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $4,763,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,083,337,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in Verizon Communications by 7.3% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 108,694,230 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $4,346,682,000 after buying an additional 7,421,148 shares in the last quarter. Amundi increased its position in Verizon Communications by 32.3% during the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 25,227,069 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $983,445,000 after buying an additional 6,153,408 shares during the period. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund acquired a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the third quarter worth $177,799,000. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 184.3% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 5,428,540 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $217,087,000 after acquiring an additional 3,519,258 shares during the period. 62.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Verizon Communications news, EVP Vandana Venkatesh sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.79, for a total value of $437,900.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 14,459 shares in the company, valued at approximately $633,159.61. The trade was a 40.88 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Kyle Malady sold 11,085 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.88, for a total value of $453,154.80. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 14,590 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $596,439.20. This trade represents a 43.17 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 49,085 shares of company stock valued at $2,020,895. Insiders own 0.02% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VZ has been the subject of several analyst reports. Wolfe Research cut shares of Verizon Communications from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. TD Cowen upgraded shares of Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. StockNews.com downgraded Verizon Communications from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective on Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $42.00 in a report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on Verizon Communications from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $46.11.

Verizon Communications Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE:VZ opened at $43.67 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $183.82 billion, a PE ratio of 10.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.41. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52-week low of $37.59 and a 52-week high of $47.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a current ratio of 0.63. The company has a fifty day moving average of $41.01 and a 200-day moving average of $41.93.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.10 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 last year, the business earned $1.08 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be given a $0.6775 dividend. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.21%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 65.46%.

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).