Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Shares Sold by Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc.

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lowered its holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 5.1% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 93,005,087 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 5,022,455 shares during the period. Verizon Communications accounts for about 0.9% of Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 17th biggest position. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $3,472,520,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Northern Financial Advisors Inc bought a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter worth about $374,000. Aviance Capital Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 392.7% in the 4th quarter. Aviance Capital Partners LLC now owns 31,510 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,188,000 after acquiring an additional 25,114 shares during the last quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management raised its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 12.9% during the fourth quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management now owns 11,413 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $430,000 after purchasing an additional 1,303 shares during the period. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 21.1% during the fourth quarter. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC now owns 10,037 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $378,000 after purchasing an additional 1,747 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Peregrine Asset Advisers Inc. boosted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 1,773.9% in the 4th quarter. Peregrine Asset Advisers Inc. now owns 160,333 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $6,045,000 after purchasing an additional 151,777 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Daiwa Capital Markets raised shares of Verizon Communications from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $36.00 to $47.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. Barclays raised their target price on Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 26th. KeyCorp lifted their price target on Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. UBS Group increased their price objective on Verizon Communications from $37.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. Finally, Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $48.00 target price on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Tuesday, April 23rd. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $44.21.

Insider Buying and Selling at Verizon Communications

In related news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 24,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 35,201 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,436,200.80. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE:VZ traded up $0.25 on Wednesday, reaching $39.56. The company had a trading volume of 4,782,194 shares, compared to its average volume of 19,677,600. The company has a quick ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42. The stock has a market capitalization of $166.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.63, a P/E/G ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.42. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $40.30 and a 200 day moving average price of $39.01. Verizon Communications Inc. has a twelve month low of $30.14 and a twelve month high of $43.42.

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

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 10th were given a dividend of $0.665 per share. This represents a $2.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.72%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, April 9th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is 99.25%.

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).