Detalus Advisors LLC Lowers Stock Position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Detalus Advisors LLC decreased its holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 13.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 25,278 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 4,091 shares during the quarter. Detalus Advisors LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $953,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 34.2% during the fourth quarter. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 135,295 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $5,101,000 after purchasing an additional 34,477 shares during the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP raised its position in Verizon Communications by 27.4% during the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 122,090 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $4,603,000 after buying an additional 26,267 shares during the last quarter. Jacobsen Capital Management acquired a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter worth $268,000. Highlander Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Highlander Capital Management LLC now owns 22,532 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $849,000 after acquiring an additional 345 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Proffitt & Goodson Inc. increased its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. Proffitt & Goodson Inc. now owns 14,318 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $540,000 after acquiring an additional 436 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 24,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 directly owns 35,201 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,436,200.80. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.02% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:VZ traded down $0.34 during trading on Friday, hitting $42.11. 14,330,173 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 20,039,316. The stock has a market capitalization of $177.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.26, a PEG ratio of 3.47 and a beta of 0.41. Verizon Communications Inc. has a one year low of $30.14 and a one year high of $43.42. The company has a quick ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47. The business’s fifty day moving average is $40.78 and its 200-day moving average is $37.67.

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

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed 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 6.32%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 9th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is presently 96.38%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VZ has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Wolfe Research upgraded Verizon Communications from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $46.00 target price on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 4th. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $48.00 price objective on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Wednesday. Redburn Atlantic raised Verizon Communications from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $33.00 to $39.00 in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $37.00 to $43.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $40.00 to $44.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $44.50.

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).