Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Shares Sold by Cozad Asset Management Inc.

Cozad Asset Management Inc. lowered its stake in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 19.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 10,785 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 2,592 shares during the quarter. Cozad Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $407,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Portland Investment Counsel Inc. boosted its stake in Verizon Communications by 173.7% in the 3rd quarter. Portland Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 652,169 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $21,137,000 after buying an additional 413,869 shares during the last quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC lifted its stake in Verizon Communications by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 127,632 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $5,131,000 after purchasing an additional 1,616 shares during the last quarter. 180 Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 6.2% during the 3rd quarter. 180 Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 51,757 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $1,677,000 after buying an additional 3,020 shares during the last quarter. GFS Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter worth approximately $212,000. Finally, Fidelity D & D Bancorp Inc. acquired a new stake in Verizon Communications in the third quarter worth $306,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Verizon Communications

In other news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 24,000 shares of Verizon Communications stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.80, for a total transaction of $979,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 35,201 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,436,200.80. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

Verizon Communications stock opened at $39.19 on Thursday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $40.40 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $38.74. The stock has a market capitalization of $164.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.62, a PEG ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a current ratio of 0.71. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52-week low of $30.14 and a 52-week high of $43.42.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last posted its earnings results on Monday, April 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.15 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.12 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $33 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.23 billion. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 20.41% and a net margin of 8.44%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.20 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.6 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 10th were given a dividend of $0.665 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, April 9th. This represents a $2.66 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.79%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is currently 99.25%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VZ has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Daiwa Capital Markets raised shares of Verizon Communications from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $36.00 to $47.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $37.00 to $43.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. Raymond James increased their price target on Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $40.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 23rd. Finally, KeyCorp increased their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $44.21.

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).