Martin Capital Partners LLC Sells 78,624 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Martin Capital Partners LLC trimmed its stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 58.7% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 55,323 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 78,624 shares during the period. Verizon Communications makes up 2.6% of Martin Capital Partners LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 12th largest holding. Martin Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $2,212,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 27.7% in the 4th quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 222,366 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $8,892,000 after buying an additional 48,294 shares during the period. Kestra Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Verizon Communications during the third quarter valued at approximately $3,376,000. Cyndeo Wealth Partners LLC raised its stake in Verizon Communications by 9.7% during the third quarter. Cyndeo Wealth Partners LLC now owns 202,521 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $9,095,000 after purchasing an additional 17,855 shares in the last quarter. Burney Co. raised its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 30.4% during the 4th quarter. Burney Co. now owns 186,621 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $7,463,000 after buying an additional 43,472 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Benjamin Edwards Inc. raised its position in Verizon Communications by 1,934.5% during the third quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 1,080,015 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $48,503,000 after purchasing an additional 1,026,930 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Verizon Communications

In other Verizon Communications news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 11,085 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.88, for a total value of $453,154.80. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 14,590 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $596,439.20. The trade was a 43.17 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of VZ opened at $39.83 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $167.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.62, a PEG ratio of 4.11 and a beta of 0.45. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $40.44 and its two-hundred day moving average is $41.54. The company has a current ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12 month low of $37.58 and a 12 month high of $45.36.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last released its earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.10 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.11 by ($0.01). Verizon Communications had a net margin of 12.99% and a return on equity of 19.80%. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.08 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 10th were given a $0.6775 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 10th. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.80%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 65.46%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. Argus upgraded Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. StockNews.com downgraded Verizon Communications from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on Verizon Communications in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $48.00 price target on the stock. Wolfe Research lifted their price target on Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $51.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $42.00 in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $46.08.

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).