Welch Group LLC Has $42.55 Million Stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Welch Group LLC decreased its stake in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 1.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,074,430 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 11,751 shares during the quarter. Welch Group LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $42,547,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. grew its holdings in Verizon Communications by 4.8% during the 4th quarter. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. now owns 30,383 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $1,215,000 after buying an additional 1,404 shares in the last quarter. Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. grew its position in Verizon Communications by 696.8% during the 4th quarter. Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. now owns 9,394 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $376,000 after purchasing an additional 8,215 shares during the last quarter. Commonwealth Financial Services LLC lifted its position in Verizon Communications by 54.9% during the fourth quarter. Commonwealth Financial Services LLC now owns 11,388 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $455,000 after purchasing an additional 4,037 shares during the period. Verity Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in Verizon Communications by 13.6% during the fourth quarter. Verity Asset Management Inc. now owns 14,083 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $563,000 after buying an additional 1,682 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rockline Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 10.0% in the fourth quarter. Rockline Wealth Management LLC now owns 61,697 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $2,467,000 after purchasing an additional 5,614 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 11,085 shares of Verizon Communications stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.88, for a total transaction of $453,154.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 14,590 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $596,439.20. The trade was a 43.17 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.03% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VZ has been the topic of several recent research reports. Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on Verizon Communications in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $48.00 price target on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $42.00 in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Wolfe Research boosted their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Argus upgraded Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $46.08.

Verizon Communications Trading Up 1.5 %

Shares of VZ stock opened at $40.00 on Tuesday. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12-month low of $37.58 and a 12-month high of $45.36. The company has a quick ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $40.61 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $41.57. The firm has a market cap of $168.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.11 and a beta of 0.45.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last posted its earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.10 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.11 by ($0.01). Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.80% and a net margin of 12.99%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.08 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, January 10th were paid a dividend of $0.6775 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 10th. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.78%. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is 65.46%.

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).