Visionary Horizons LLC Sells 2,154 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Visionary Horizons LLC lessened its stake in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 8.8% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 22,197 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 2,154 shares during the period. Verizon Communications accounts for about 0.6% of Visionary Horizons LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 23rd biggest position. Visionary Horizons LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $888,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 27.7% during the fourth quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 222,366 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $8,892,000 after buying an additional 48,294 shares during the last quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Verizon Communications during the 3rd quarter valued at about $3,376,000. Cyndeo Wealth Partners LLC increased its holdings in Verizon Communications by 9.7% during the 3rd quarter. Cyndeo Wealth Partners LLC now owns 202,521 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $9,095,000 after purchasing an additional 17,855 shares in the last quarter. Burney Co. raised its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 30.4% in the fourth quarter. Burney Co. now owns 186,621 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $7,463,000 after purchasing an additional 43,472 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Benjamin Edwards Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 1,934.5% in 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 in the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VZ has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Scotiabank increased their price target on Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $47.50 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Wolfe Research increased their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $51.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. StockNews.com cut shares of Verizon Communications from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 16th. Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $48.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Tigress Financial reissued a “buy” rating and set a $55.00 target price on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $46.08.

Insider Buying and Selling at Verizon Communications

In other Verizon Communications news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 11,085 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.88, for a total transaction of $453,154.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 14,590 shares in the company, valued at $596,439.20. This represents a 43.17 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders have sold 39,085 shares of company stock worth $1,582,995 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.02% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

NYSE:VZ opened at $39.88 on Friday. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52-week low of $37.58 and a 52-week high of $45.36. The business’s fifty day moving average is $40.18 and its 200 day moving average is $41.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a current ratio of 0.63. The firm has a market cap of $167.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.63, a PEG ratio of 4.17 and a beta of 0.45.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last announced 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 net margin of 12.99% and a return on equity of 19.80%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.08 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 3rd. Investors 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.80%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 65.46%.

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).