Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Shares Sold by Slow Capital Inc.

Slow Capital Inc. trimmed its position in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 6.7% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 47,404 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 3,414 shares during the period. Slow Capital Inc.’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $1,787,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VZ. Sloy Dahl & Holst LLC boosted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 11.7% in the fourth quarter. Sloy Dahl & Holst LLC now owns 20,593 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $776,000 after acquiring an additional 2,155 shares during the last quarter. Scissortail Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Verizon Communications by 26.1% during the fourth quarter. Scissortail Wealth Management LLC now owns 122,525 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $4,619,000 after buying an additional 25,382 shares in the last quarter. Tyche Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter worth $835,000. Financial Strategies Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 14.0% during the 4th quarter. Financial Strategies Group Inc. now owns 120,235 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $4,963,000 after acquiring an additional 14,754 shares during the period. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 2,170,563 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $81,830,000 after purchasing an additional 14,954 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

NYSE:VZ opened at $39.77 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $167.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.24 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a quick ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52 week low of $30.14 and a 52 week high of $43.42. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $40.54 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $38.17.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, January 23rd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.08 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.08. The firm had revenue of $35.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $34.60 billion. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 20.71% and a net margin of 8.67%. Verizon Communications’s revenue for the quarter was down .6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.19 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 10th will be issued a $0.665 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 9th. This represents a $2.66 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.69%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 96.38%.

Insider Activity at Verizon Communications

In other Verizon Communications news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 15,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.33, for a total transaction of $604,950.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 59,201 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,387,576.33. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.02% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VZ has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $36.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $48.00 price objective on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Daiwa Capital Markets upgraded Verizon Communications from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $36.00 to $47.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, January 26th. Finally, Raymond James upped their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Verizon Communications has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $44.50.

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).