Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Holdings Trimmed by Sentry LLC

Sentry LLC reduced its position in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 3.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 8,157 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 300 shares during the quarter. Sentry LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $326,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in Verizon Communications by 27.7% during the 4th quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 222,366 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $8,892,000 after acquiring an additional 48,294 shares during the period. Kestra Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the third quarter worth approximately $3,376,000. Cyndeo Wealth Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 9.7% during the third quarter. Cyndeo Wealth Partners LLC now owns 202,521 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $9,095,000 after purchasing an additional 17,855 shares during the period. Benjamin Edwards Inc. grew its position in Verizon Communications by 1,934.5% during the third quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 1,080,015 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $48,503,000 after purchasing an additional 1,026,930 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Burney Co. increased its stake in Verizon Communications by 30.4% in the 4th quarter. Burney Co. now owns 186,621 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $7,463,000 after buying an additional 43,472 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.54, for a total transaction of $810,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 45,675 shares in the company, valued at $1,851,664.50. This trade represents a 30.45 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.02% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of VZ stock opened at $40.25 on Thursday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $40.79 and a 200-day moving average of $41.61. The firm has a market cap of $169.43 billion, a PE ratio of 17.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.27 and a beta of 0.46. The company has a quick ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12 month low of $37.58 and a 12 month high of $45.36.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.10 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.11 by ($0.01). Verizon Communications had a net margin of 7.30% and a return on equity of 20.05%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.08 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.59 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 10th will be issued a $0.6775 dividend. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.73%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 10th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 116.81%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VZ has been the topic of several research analyst reports. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. Scotiabank upped their target price on Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $47.50 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday. TD Cowen upgraded Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Argus upgraded Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $42.00 in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Verizon Communications has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $46.08.

About Verizon Communications

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).