Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Shares Sold by SouthState Corp

SouthState Corp decreased its stake in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 22.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 35,511 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 10,084 shares during the period. SouthState Corp’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $1,420,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter worth about $1,083,337,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 7.3% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 108,694,230 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $4,346,682,000 after purchasing an additional 7,421,148 shares in the last quarter. Amundi grew its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 32.3% in the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 25,227,069 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $983,445,000 after purchasing an additional 6,153,408 shares during the last quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund acquired a new stake in Verizon Communications during the third quarter valued at approximately $177,799,000. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 184.3% during the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 5,428,540 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $217,087,000 after buying an additional 3,519,258 shares in the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on Verizon Communications from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. UBS Group upped their target price on Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. StockNews.com cut Verizon Communications from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. DZ Bank raised shares of Verizon Communications from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $40.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, TD Cowen raised shares of Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $46.11.

Verizon Communications Stock Up 0.3 %

VZ opened at $43.69 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $183.90 billion, a PE ratio of 10.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.41. 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 fifty-two week low of $37.59 and a fifty-two week high of $47.36. The business has a 50-day moving average of $41.09 and a 200-day moving average of $41.95.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last posted its earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.10 earnings per share (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 quarter last year, the firm earned $1.08 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be given a $0.6775 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.20%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is currently 65.46%.

Insider Transactions at Verizon Communications

In related news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 11,085 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.88, for a total transaction of $453,154.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 14,590 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $596,439.20. The trade was a 43.17 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Vandana Venkatesh sold 10,000 shares of the firm’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 value of $437,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,459 shares in the company, valued at $633,159.61. This trade represents a 40.88 % 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 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).