West Family Investments Inc. Cuts Stock Holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

West Family Investments Inc. decreased its position in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 5.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 26,148 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 1,536 shares during the quarter. West Family Investments Inc.’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $1,046,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VZ. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,083,337,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 7.3% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 108,694,230 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $4,346,682,000 after purchasing an additional 7,421,148 shares during the last quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund purchased a new stake in Verizon Communications in the third quarter worth approximately $177,799,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 184.3% during the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 5,428,540 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $217,087,000 after acquiring an additional 3,519,258 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 77.1% during the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 6,101,616 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $274,052,000 after acquiring an additional 2,656,396 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

Verizon Communications stock opened at $44.26 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $186.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 0.63 and a quick ratio of 0.59. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1 year low of $37.59 and a 1 year high of $45.36. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $40.49 and a two-hundred day moving average of $41.79.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last posted 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 business posted $1.08 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be issued a $0.6775 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.12%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is currently 65.46%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on VZ shares. DZ Bank upgraded shares of Verizon Communications from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $40.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on shares of 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. Tigress Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $55.00 price target on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $46.11.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Vandana Venkatesh sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.79, for a total transaction of $437,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 14,459 shares in the company, valued at $633,159.61. The trade was a 40.88 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Kyle Malady sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 45,675 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,851,664.50. This trade represents a 30.45 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 49,085 shares of company stock worth $2,020,895. 0.02% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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).