AGF Management Ltd. Sells 22,376 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

AGF Management Ltd. decreased its position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 21.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 79,829 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 22,376 shares during the period. AGF Management Ltd.’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $3,192,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake 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 purchasing an additional 48,294 shares in the last quarter. Roffman Miller Associates Inc. PA lifted its stake in Verizon Communications by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Roffman Miller Associates Inc. PA now owns 382,678 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $15,303,000 after acquiring an additional 6,795 shares during the period. Kestra Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Verizon Communications during the 3rd quarter valued at about $3,376,000. Burney Co. lifted its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 43,472 shares during the period. Finally, Benjamin Edwards Inc. lifted its stake in Verizon Communications by 1,934.5% during the 3rd quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 1,080,015 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $48,503,000 after acquiring an additional 1,026,930 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Vandana Venkatesh sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were 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 directly owns 14,459 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $633,159.61. This trade represents a 40.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Kyle Malady sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.54, for a total transaction of $810,800.00. Following the completion of 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 49,085 shares of company stock worth $2,020,895 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.02% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

NYSE VZ opened at $42.63 on Thursday. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12 month low of $37.59 and a 12 month high of $47.36. The stock has a market cap of $179.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.30, a PEG ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.41. The company’s 50 day moving average is $40.87 and its two-hundred day moving average is $41.90. 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 (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 return on equity of 19.80% and a net margin of 12.99%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.08 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be given a dividend of $0.6775 per share. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.36%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is currently 65.46%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VZ has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Tigress Financial restated a “buy” rating and set a $55.00 target price on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Scotiabank upped their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.50 to $48.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $48.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Argus raised shares of Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $46.11.

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).