Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Shares Sold by St. James Investment Company LLC

St. James Investment Company LLC lowered its holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 12.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 605,713 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 87,521 shares during the quarter. Verizon Communications accounts for about 3.7% of St. James Investment Company LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 11th biggest position. St. James Investment Company LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $22,835,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA boosted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 627.8% in the 4th quarter. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA now owns 655 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 565 shares in the last quarter. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC raised its stake in Verizon Communications by 130.1% in the 4th quarter. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC now owns 863 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 488 shares during the last quarter. HBC Financial Services PLLC increased its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 320.0% during the 3rd 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 acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the 3rd quarter valued at about $36,000. Finally, Financial Management Professionals Inc. increased its position in Verizon Communications by 58.4% during the 4th quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. now owns 1,096 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 404 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Verizon Communications

In other news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 24,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.80, for a total transaction of $979,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 can be accessed through this link. 0.03% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

VZ traded down $0.32 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $39.79. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 5,153,270 shares, compared to its average volume of 19,587,906. The stock has a market capitalization of $167.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.24 and a beta of 0.41. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12 month low of $30.14 and a 12 month 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 firm’s 50 day moving average price is $40.58 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $38.10.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, January 23rd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.08 earnings per share 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 return on equity of 20.71% and a net margin of 8.67%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down .6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.19 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 10th will be paid a $0.665 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 9th. This represents a $2.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.69%. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is 96.38%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on VZ shares. Barclays upped their price target on Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, January 26th. Wolfe Research upgraded 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. UBS Group increased their target price on Verizon Communications from $37.00 to $43.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. Tigress Financial increased their target price on Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 25th. Finally, Citigroup raised their price objective on Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 30th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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).