Nelson Capital Management LLC Cuts Stock Holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Nelson Capital Management LLC reduced its stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 1.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 60,113 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 580 shares during the quarter. Nelson Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $2,404,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of VZ. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new position in Verizon Communications in the 3rd quarter valued at $31,000. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. grew its position in Verizon Communications by 69.6% during the fourth quarter. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 780 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 320 shares during the period. Compass Financial Services Inc purchased a new stake in Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. Hager Investment Management Services LLC bought a new stake in Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter worth about $38,000. Finally, Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Verizon Communications by 655.5% in the fourth quarter. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 967 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 839 shares during the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Verizon Communications

In related news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 11,085 shares of the firm’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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 14,590 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $596,439.20. This trade represents a 43.17 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 39,085 shares of company stock worth $1,582,995. 0.02% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

Verizon Communications stock opened at $43.73 on Wednesday. Verizon Communications Inc. has a twelve month low of $37.58 and a twelve month 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. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $40.01 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $41.67. The company has a market capitalization of $184.07 billion, a PE ratio of 10.56, a P/E/G ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.45.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.10 EPS 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 period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.08 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 10th were issued a $0.6775 dividend. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.20%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 10th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 65.46%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

VZ has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. TD Cowen raised Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Wolfe Research boosted their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $51.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Scotiabank raised their price target on Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $47.50 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. UBS Group lifted their target price on Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, DZ Bank raised shares of Verizon Communications from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $40.00 price target on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $46.08.

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).