Staley Capital Advisers Inc. Decreases Stock Holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Staley Capital Advisers Inc. lowered its holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 1.1% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 197,139 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 2,250 shares during the period. Staley Capital Advisers Inc.’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $7,884,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of VZ. Mainstream Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in Verizon Communications in the third quarter worth $31,000. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 69.6% in the fourth quarter. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 780 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 320 shares during the period. Compass Financial Services Inc purchased a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, Hager Investment Management Services LLC purchased a new stake in Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter worth about $38,000. Institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

VZ stock opened at $46.55 on Tuesday. Verizon Communications Inc. has a one year low of $37.59 and a one year high of $47.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 0.63 and a quick ratio of 0.59. The stock has a market cap of $195.94 billion, a PE ratio of 11.24, a P/E/G ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.41. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $40.75 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $41.88.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last released its earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.10 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 prior year, the firm posted $1.08 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be paid a $0.6775 dividend. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.82%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is currently 65.46%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Vandana Venkatesh sold 10,000 shares of Verizon Communications stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.79, for a total value of $437,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 14,459 shares in the company, valued at approximately $633,159.61. This represents a 40.88 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 49,085 shares of company stock valued at $2,020,895. 0.02% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently issued reports on VZ. Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $48.00 price target on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on Verizon Communications from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. TD Cowen raised Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Wolfe Research lifted their target price 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 decreased their price target on Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $42.00 in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $46.11.

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).