Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Shares Sold by Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P.

Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. reduced its position in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 16.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 379,917 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 77,098 shares during the period. Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P.’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $15,193,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Symmetry Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter worth about $209,000. Blueshift Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 88.3% during the fourth quarter. Blueshift Asset Management LLC now owns 30,440 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $1,217,000 after acquiring an additional 14,275 shares during the last quarter. Lingohr Asset Management GmbH acquired a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter valued at about $797,000. Strategic Financial Services Inc. increased its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 4.0% during the fourth quarter. Strategic Financial Services Inc. now owns 7,113 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $284,000 after acquiring an additional 272 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Royal London Asset Management Ltd. increased its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 1,897,699 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $75,889,000 after acquiring an additional 41,384 shares during the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

Verizon Communications stock opened at $43.92 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $184.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $41.30 and a 200-day simple moving average of $41.98. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12-month low of $37.59 and a 12-month high of $47.36. 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 (NYSE:VZ) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.08 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The business 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 $0.6775 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.17%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 65.46%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Tigress Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $55.00 price target on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $42.00 in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Argus upgraded shares of Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Wolfe Research lowered shares of Verizon Communications from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $46.11.

Insider Activity at Verizon Communications

In related news, EVP Vandana Venkatesh sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.79, for a total value of $437,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,459 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $633,159.61. The trade was a 40.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Kyle Malady sold 11,085 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 14,590 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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. Insiders sold a total of 49,085 shares of company stock valued at $2,020,895 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.02% of the company’s stock.

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).