Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Shares Sold by Little House Capital LLC

Little House Capital LLC cut its position in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 16.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 34,722 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 6,642 shares during the quarter. Little House Capital LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $1,309,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA boosted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 627.8% during the 4th quarter. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA now owns 655 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 565 shares in the last quarter. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC boosted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 130.1% during the 4th quarter. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC now owns 863 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 488 shares in the last quarter. HBC Financial Services PLLC boosted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 320.0% in the third quarter. HBC Financial Services PLLC now owns 1,050 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 800 shares during the period. Finally, Cetera Trust Company N.A purchased a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter worth $37,000. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

VZ stock traded up $0.46 during trading on Friday, hitting $39.68. 18,246,244 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 18,678,804. Verizon Communications Inc. has a one year low of $30.14 and a one year high of $43.42. The stock has a market cap of $166.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.81, a P/E/G ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $40.46 and a 200 day simple moving average of $38.56. The company has a current ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.12 by $0.03. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 8.44% and a return on equity of 20.41%. The firm had revenue of $33 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $33.23 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.20 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up .3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.665 per share. This represents a $2.66 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.70%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 9th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is currently 99.25%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have weighed in on VZ shares. Citigroup raised their target price on Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 30th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $40.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on Verizon Communications from $36.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Tigress Financial lifted their price objective on Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 25th. Finally, Daiwa Capital Markets upgraded Verizon Communications from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $36.00 to $47.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $44.21.

Insider Activity at Verizon Communications

In other Verizon Communications news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 15,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.33, for a total value of $604,950.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 59,201 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,387,576.33. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.02% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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).