Murphy Pohlad Asset Management LLC Has $449,000 Position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Murphy Pohlad Asset Management LLC decreased its position in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 5.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 11,229 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 636 shares during the period. Murphy Pohlad Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $449,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Quarry LP increased its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 57.2% in the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 2,303 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $95,000 after purchasing an additional 838 shares during the last quarter. New Century Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the second quarter worth $537,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the second quarter worth $178,000. Sanctuary Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Verizon Communications in the 2nd quarter worth about $33,532,000. Finally, Heritage Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the second quarter valued at approximately $893,000. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Verizon Communications Stock Down 0.4 %

Verizon Communications stock opened at $40.25 on Thursday. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52 week low of $37.58 and a 52 week high of $45.36. The firm has a market cap of $169.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.27 and a beta of 0.46. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $40.79 and its 200 day moving average price is $41.61. The company has a quick ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.10 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.11 by ($0.01). Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 20.05% and a net margin of 7.30%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.08 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.59 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 10th will be issued a $0.6775 dividend. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.73%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 10th. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is currently 116.81%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Verizon Communications news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.54, for a total transaction of $810,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 45,675 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,851,664.50. This trade represents a 30.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. StockNews.com lowered shares of Verizon Communications from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Wolfe Research increased their price target on Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Argus raised shares of Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday. UBS Group raised their price objective on Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Finally, TD Cowen raised Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $46.08.

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).