Congress Asset Management Co. MA lessened its position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ – Get Rating) by 6.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 203,892 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 13,559 shares during the quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. MA’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $8,033,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.
Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Certified Advisory Corp lifted its position in Verizon Communications by 1.0% during the first quarter. Certified Advisory Corp now owns 23,297 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,187,000 after buying an additional 233 shares in the last quarter. Community Trust & Investment Co. lifted its position in Verizon Communications by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Community Trust & Investment Co. now owns 63,854 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $2,516,000 after buying an additional 243 shares in the last quarter. Platform Technology Partners lifted its position in Verizon Communications by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Platform Technology Partners now owns 29,487 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,162,000 after buying an additional 252 shares in the last quarter. FCA Corp TX lifted its position in Verizon Communications by 1.0% during the third quarter. FCA Corp TX now owns 27,044 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,027,000 after buying an additional 270 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Schaper Benz & Wise Investment Counsel Inc. WI raised its position in Verizon Communications by 4.0% in the third quarter. Schaper Benz & Wise Investment Counsel Inc. WI now owns 6,999 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $266,000 after purchasing an additional 272 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 60.96% of the company’s stock.
Insider Transactions at Verizon Communications
In other news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 6,226 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.69, for a total transaction of $228,431.94. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 67,966 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,493,672.54. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.
Verizon Communications Trading Up 0.8 %
Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ – Get Rating) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 24th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.20 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $35.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $35.14 billion. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 24.60% and a net margin of 15.53%. The company’s revenue was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.31 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement
The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 10th will be given a dividend of $0.6525 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 6th. This represents a $2.61 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.93%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is currently 51.58%.
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth
A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. Oppenheimer reduced their target price on Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $46.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 25th. Bank of America reduced their target price on Verizon Communications from $51.00 to $41.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. StockNews.com assumed coverage on Verizon Communications in a research report on Thursday, March 16th. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock. Cowen reduced their target price on Verizon Communications from $55.00 to $49.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 25th. Finally, Tigress Financial reduced their target price on Verizon Communications from $68.00 to $64.00 in a research report on Friday, December 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $47.11.
About Verizon Communications
Verizon Communications, Inc is a holding company, which engages in the provision of communications, information, and entertainment products and services. It operates through the Verizon Consumer Group (Consumer) and Verizon Business Group (Business) segments. The Consumer segment provides consumer-focused wireless and wire line communications services and products.
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