Atria Investments Inc Sells 9,929 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Atria Investments Inc cut its holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 2.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 362,484 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 9,929 shares during the period. Atria Investments Inc’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $14,496,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Austin Private Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 3.0% in the third quarter. Austin Private Wealth LLC now owns 8,450 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $379,000 after acquiring an additional 243 shares during the period. Cary Street Partners Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 3.4% during the 3rd quarter. Cary Street Partners Asset Management LLC now owns 7,628 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $343,000 after purchasing an additional 249 shares during the last quarter. First Personal Financial Services lifted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. First Personal Financial Services now owns 91,092 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $4,091,000 after purchasing an additional 250 shares during the period. Encompass Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 2.0% in the third quarter. Encompass Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 12,505 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $562,000 after buying an additional 250 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kirtland Hills Capital Management LLC grew its position in Verizon Communications by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Kirtland Hills Capital Management LLC now owns 10,968 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $439,000 after buying an additional 252 shares during the period. 62.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 8,000 shares of Verizon Communications stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.88, for a total value of $319,040.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 6,590 shares in the company, valued at $262,809.20. The trade was a 54.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Vandana Venkatesh sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.79, for a total transaction of $437,900.00. Following the transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 49,085 shares of company stock worth $2,020,895 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.02% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

VZ has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. TD Cowen raised Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Argus upgraded Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. 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 research report on Friday, January 24th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $42.00 in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Scotiabank boosted their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.50 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $46.11.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:VZ opened at $42.87 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12 month low of $37.59 and a 12 month high of $45.36. The company has a market capitalization of $180.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.35, a PEG ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.45. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $40.34 and its 200 day moving average is $41.76.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last issued its quarterly 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 period in the prior year, the business earned $1.08 EPS. Research analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.32%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 65.46%.

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).