MV Capital Management Inc. Has $262,000 Position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

MV Capital Management Inc. cut its position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 12.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 6,547 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 897 shares during the period. MV Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $262,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Allianz SE bought a new stake in Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter worth approximately $564,000. Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter worth $1,619,000. Biondo Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Biondo Investment Advisors LLC now owns 178,531 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $7,139,000 after acquiring an additional 1,266 shares during the period. Allstate Corp bought a new stake in Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter valued at $4,987,000. Finally, Maridea Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter worth $248,000. 62.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on VZ. DZ Bank raised Verizon Communications from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $40.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Wolfe Research downgraded shares of Verizon Communications from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. Tigress Financial restated a “buy” rating and set a $55.00 target price on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $48.00 price target on the stock. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Verizon Communications from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $46.71.

Verizon Communications Trading Down 0.0 %

Shares of Verizon Communications stock opened at $44.96 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a current ratio of 0.63. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $42.11 and a 200-day moving average of $42.09. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52-week low of $37.59 and a 52-week high of $47.36. The stock has a market cap of $189.25 billion, a PE ratio of 10.86, a PEG ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.41.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 24th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.08 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be issued a $0.6775 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.03%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is presently 65.46%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Verizon Communications

In other Verizon Communications news, EVP Vandana Venkatesh sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.79, for a total value of $437,900.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 14,459 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $633,159.61. This trade represents a 40.88 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Kyle Malady sold 11,085 shares of Verizon Communications stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.88, for a total value of $453,154.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 14,590 shares in the company, valued at approximately $596,439.20. The trade was a 43.17 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 49,085 shares of company stock valued at $2,020,895 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.02% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications 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).