GQG Partners LLC Sells 12,391,586 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

GQG Partners LLC decreased its position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 50.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 12,343,800 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 12,391,586 shares during the period. GQG Partners LLC owned about 0.29% of Verizon Communications worth $493,629,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Modern Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Verizon Communications by 10.9% during the 4th quarter. Modern Wealth Management LLC now owns 44,606 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $1,782,000 after purchasing an additional 4,377 shares during the period. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC increased its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 9.0% during the fourth quarter. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC now owns 67,741 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $2,709,000 after buying an additional 5,607 shares during the period. CoreFirst Bank & Trust bought a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $236,000. Grantvest Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter worth $258,000. Finally, Lynx Investment Advisory lifted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 3.7% in the 4th quarter. Lynx Investment Advisory now owns 25,018 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,000,000 after purchasing an additional 899 shares during the period. 62.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

Shares of VZ opened at $43.59 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $183.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.53, a P/E/G ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.41. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $41.63 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $42.02. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12 month low of $37.59 and a 12 month high of $47.36. The company has a current ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 12.99% and a return on equity of 19.80%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.08 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.6775 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.22%. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is 65.46%.

Insider Activity at Verizon Communications

In related news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 11,085 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 29th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at approximately $596,439.20. This represents a 43.17 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Vandana Venkatesh sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.79, for a total value of $437,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,459 shares in the company, valued at $633,159.61. The trade was a 40.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 49,085 shares of company stock worth $2,020,895 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.02% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently issued reports on VZ. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $42.00 in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Tigress Financial reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $55.00 target price on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on Verizon Communications from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Scotiabank increased their price objective on Verizon Communications from $47.50 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Verizon Communications from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 13th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Verizon Communications currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $46.53.

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).