Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Shares Sold by Brandywine Oak Private Wealth LLC

Brandywine Oak Private Wealth LLC lowered its position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 13.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 10,253 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 1,594 shares during the quarter. Brandywine Oak Private Wealth LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $410,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. AMF Tjanstepension AB raised its holdings in Verizon Communications by 58.0% during the third quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 1,756,452 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $78,975,000 after purchasing an additional 644,761 shares in the last quarter. Czech National Bank raised its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 6.9% in the 3rd quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 857,524 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $38,511,000 after buying an additional 55,411 shares in the last quarter. Alpha Financial Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the third quarter valued at $224,000. Evanson Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Verizon Communications by 13.5% during the third quarter. Evanson Asset Management LLC now owns 5,693 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $256,000 after buying an additional 677 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Brookstone Capital Management boosted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 7.0% during the 3rd quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 373,419 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $16,770,000 after purchasing an additional 24,557 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:VZ opened at $40.14 on Thursday. Verizon Communications Inc. has a twelve month low of $37.58 and a twelve month high of $45.36. The company has a quick ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. The company has a market cap of $168.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.70, a PEG ratio of 4.11 and a beta of 0.45. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $40.44 and a 200 day moving average price of $41.54.

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 quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.08 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, January 10th were paid a $0.6775 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 10th. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.75%. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is currently 65.46%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently commented on VZ shares. Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $42.00 in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Tigress Financial reissued a “buy” rating and set a $55.00 price objective on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on Verizon Communications from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Wolfe Research boosted their price objective on Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $48.00 target price for the company. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $46.08.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Verizon Communications news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.54, for a total transaction of $810,800.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 45,675 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,851,664.50. This represents a 30.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders sold a total of 39,085 shares of company stock worth $1,582,995 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

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).