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

Tacita Capital Inc trimmed its holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 32.4% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 992 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 475 shares during the period. Tacita Capital Inc’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $40,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC boosted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 5.5% during the 4th quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 773,308 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $30,925,000 after purchasing an additional 40,154 shares during the last quarter. Bravias Capital Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter worth about $405,000. Wernau Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter worth about $1,010,000. Meridian Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 4.4% during the 4th quarter. Meridian Wealth Management LLC now owns 45,124 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,803,000 after purchasing an additional 1,907 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mission Wealth Management LP boosted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 24.0% during the 4th quarter. Mission Wealth Management LP now owns 56,543 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $2,261,000 after purchasing an additional 10,959 shares during the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have issued reports on VZ. Scotiabank raised their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.50 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday. TD Cowen upgraded shares of Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Wolfe Research increased their price objective 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. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective 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. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $42.00 in a report on Friday, January 24th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $46.11.

Verizon Communications Trading Up 1.6 %

VZ opened at $43.81 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $184.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.58, a P/E/G ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.45. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $40.28 and its 200-day moving average is $41.75. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52-week low of $37.58 and a 52-week 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.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last released 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 return on equity of 19.80% and a net margin of 12.99%. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.08 EPS. Analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be given a dividend of $0.6775 per share. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.19%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is currently 65.46%.

Insider Transactions at Verizon Communications

In other Verizon Communications news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 20,000 shares of Verizon Communications stock in a transaction on Monday, January 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.54, for a total value of $810,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 45,675 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,851,664.50. The trade was a 30.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Vandana Venkatesh sold 10,000 shares of Verizon Communications stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.79, for a total transaction of $437,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,459 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $633,159.61. This represents a 40.88 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 49,085 shares of company stock valued at $2,020,895. 0.02% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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).