LM Advisors LLC Trims Position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

LM Advisors LLC trimmed its position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 9.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 28,326 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 2,941 shares during the quarter. LM Advisors LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $1,133,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Mainstream Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in Verizon Communications by 69.6% during the 4th quarter. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 780 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 320 shares during the last quarter. Graney & King LLC bought a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Compass Financial Services Inc bought a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, Hager Investment Management Services LLC bought a new position in Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $38,000. 62.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Verizon Communications

In other Verizon Communications news, EVP Vandana Venkatesh sold 10,000 shares of the 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 14,459 shares in the company, valued at $633,159.61. This trade represents a 40.88 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, 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 value of $453,154.80. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 14,590 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $596,439.20. The trade was a 43.17 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 49,085 shares of company stock valued at $2,020,895. 0.02% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently commented on VZ shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on Verizon Communications from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Scotiabank increased their price target on Verizon Communications from $47.50 to $48.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on Verizon Communications in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $48.00 target price for the company. Finally, Argus raised Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Ten equities research 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $46.71.

Verizon Communications Stock Up 1.6 %

VZ opened at $44.18 on Thursday. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12 month low of $37.59 and a 12 month high of $47.36. The stock has a market cap of $185.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.67, a P/E/G ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.41. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $41.85 and its 200 day moving average price is $42.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 0.63 and a quick ratio of 0.59.

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 prior year, the company earned $1.08 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be paid a $0.6775 dividend. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.13%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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).