Cascades Capital Asset Management LLC Decreases Stock Holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Cascades Capital Asset Management LLC lowered its holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 32.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,457 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 3,169 shares during the period. Cascades Capital Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $258,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Ilmarinen Mutual Pension Insurance Co increased its holdings in Verizon Communications by 31.9% during the fourth quarter. Ilmarinen Mutual Pension Insurance Co now owns 600,000 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $23,994,000 after buying an additional 145,000 shares during the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 9.5% during the 4th quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 3,274,456 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $130,805,000 after purchasing an additional 285,433 shares during the last quarter. Rahlfs Capital LLC purchased a new position in Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $591,000. Hurley Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter worth $83,000. Finally, Perennial Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in Verizon Communications by 5.4% in the fourth quarter. Perennial Investment Advisors LLC now owns 23,488 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $939,000 after buying an additional 1,194 shares during the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Verizon Communications Trading Down 5.5 %

Shares of VZ opened at $43.11 on Friday. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1-year low of $37.59 and a 1-year high of $47.36. The company has a market capitalization of $181.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.41, a P/E/G ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 0.63 and a quick ratio of 0.59. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $42.68 and its 200 day simple moving average is $42.10.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 24th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.10 earnings per share 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 quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.08 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.29%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 65.46%.

Insider Activity at Verizon Communications

In other news, 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 transaction of $437,900.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,459 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $633,159.61. This trade represents a 40.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Kyle Malady sold 11,085 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 14,590 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $596,439.20. This trade represents a 43.17 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 49,085 shares of company stock valued at $2,020,895. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Argus upgraded Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Tigress Financial restated a “buy” rating and set a $55.00 price target on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Verizon Communications from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 13th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $45.00 target price (up previously from $42.00) on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $46.82.

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).