Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Shares Sold by Summit Global Investments

Summit Global Investments decreased its position in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 16.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 20,971 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 4,012 shares during the quarter. Summit Global Investments’ holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $791,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in VZ. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Verizon Communications by 0.3% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 351,625,025 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $11,396,167,000 after purchasing an additional 930,367 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in Verizon Communications by 4.8% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 98,027,542 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $3,151,714,000 after acquiring an additional 4,527,387 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in Verizon Communications by 4.7% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 44,621,839 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,446,194,000 after acquiring an additional 2,015,139 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its position in Verizon Communications by 17.0% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 28,400,326 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $920,455,000 after acquiring an additional 4,134,150 shares during the period. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 17.6% during the third quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 9,261,791 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $300,175,000 after purchasing an additional 1,385,957 shares in the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Verizon Communications

In related news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 24,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.80, for a total value of $979,200.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 35,201 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,436,200.80. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 0.02% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

Shares of VZ stock opened at $38.89 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a current ratio of 0.71 and a quick ratio of 0.67. The company has a market capitalization of $163.70 billion, a PE ratio of 14.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.42. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $40.32 and its two-hundred day moving average is $38.79. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12 month low of $30.14 and a 12 month high of $43.42.

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

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 10th were paid a $0.665 dividend. This represents a $2.66 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.84%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, April 9th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 99.25%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently weighed in on VZ shares. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $40.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $48.00 target price on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Redburn Atlantic raised Verizon Communications from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $33.00 to $39.00 in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 26th. Finally, Tigress Financial increased their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 25th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $44.21.

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).