FLC Capital Advisors Lowers Position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

FLC Capital Advisors cut its stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 2.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 18,632 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 400 shares during the quarter. FLC Capital Advisors’ holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $702,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. CGC Financial Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the second quarter valued at approximately $32,000. HBC Financial Services PLLC increased its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 320.0% during the third quarter. HBC Financial Services PLLC now owns 1,050 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 800 shares during the last quarter. RVW Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Verizon Communications in the third quarter worth $36,000. Financial Management Professionals Inc. increased its position in Verizon Communications by 58.4% in the fourth quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. now owns 1,096 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 404 shares during the last quarter. Finally, True Wealth Design LLC purchased a new stake in Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter worth $42,000. 62.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Verizon Communications Trading Up 1.7 %

Shares of NYSE:VZ traded up $0.69 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $41.54. 19,204,788 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 20,358,660. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1 year low of $30.14 and a 1 year high of $43.21. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $40.52 and a 200-day moving average price of $37.31. The firm has a market capitalization of $174.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.31 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47, a current ratio of 0.69 and a quick ratio of 0.65.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 23rd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.08 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.08. The company had revenue of $35.10 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.60 billion. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 8.67% and a return on equity of 20.71%. Verizon Communications’s revenue for the quarter was down .6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.19 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.61 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.665 per share. This represents a $2.66 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.40%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 9th. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is currently 96.38%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Wolfe Research raised Verizon Communications from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $46.00 price target for the company in a report on Thursday, January 4th. Tigress Financial lifted their price objective on Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 25th. KeyCorp lifted their price objective on Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. Citigroup boosted their price target on Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 30th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Verizon Communications from $40.00 to $44.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Verizon Communications has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $43.86.

Insider Transactions at Verizon Communications

In other Verizon Communications news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 24,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.80, for a total value of $979,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 35,201 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,436,200.80. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.02% of the company’s stock.

About Verizon Communications

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).