17 Capital Partners LLC Reduces Stock Position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

17 Capital Partners LLC trimmed its holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 2.1% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 29,888 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 647 shares during the quarter. 17 Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $1,195,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new position in Verizon Communications during the third quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Accordant Advisory Group Inc boosted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 137.6% in the 3rd quarter. Accordant Advisory Group Inc now owns 777 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 450 shares during the period. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 69.6% in 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 purchased a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter worth $33,000. Finally, Hager Investment Management Services LLC bought a new stake in Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter valued at $38,000. Institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

Shares of Verizon Communications stock opened at $39.88 on Friday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $40.18 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $41.53. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12-month low of $37.58 and a 12-month high of $45.36. The firm has a market cap of $167.86 billion, a PE ratio of 9.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.17 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.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last posted 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 return on equity of 19.80% and a net margin of 12.99%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.08 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, January 10th were paid a $0.6775 dividend. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.80%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 10th. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is 65.46%.

Insider Activity at Verizon Communications

In other Verizon Communications news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 11,085 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.88, for a total value of $453,154.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 14,590 shares in the company, valued at $596,439.20. This trade represents a 43.17 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders have sold a total of 39,085 shares of company stock worth $1,582,995 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.02% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have weighed in on VZ. TD Cowen raised Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $48.00 target price for the company. Argus raised shares of Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. DZ Bank upgraded shares of Verizon Communications from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $40.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Ten investment 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 MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price 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).