Syntax Research Inc. Sells 417 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Syntax Research Inc. trimmed its holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 32.1% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 883 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 417 shares during the quarter. Syntax Research Inc.’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $35,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VZ. Swedbank AB lifted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 0.8% in the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 5,174,541 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $232,389,000 after buying an additional 39,403 shares during the last quarter. Camden National Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the third quarter worth $258,000. Cerity Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 16.5% in the third quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 1,459,961 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $65,567,000 after buying an additional 206,921 shares during the last quarter. Algert Global LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the third quarter worth $1,781,000. Finally, Towercrest Capital Management acquired a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the third quarter worth $207,000. 62.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Verizon Communications

In other news, EVP Vandana Venkatesh sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.79, for a total value of $437,900.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 14,459 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $633,159.61. This represents a 40.88 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Kyle Malady sold 8,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.88, for a total transaction of $319,040.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 6,590 shares in the company, valued at approximately $262,809.20. The trade was a 54.83 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 49,085 shares of company stock valued at $2,020,895. 0.02% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Verizon Communications Trading Up 0.7 %

Shares of VZ stock opened at $44.06 on Monday. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52-week low of $37.59 and a 52-week high of $47.36. The stock has a market cap of $185.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.64, a P/E/G ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.41. 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 fifty day moving average of $41.52 and a 200-day moving average of $42.01.

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

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced 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. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.15%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is 65.46%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

VZ has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Scotiabank boosted their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.50 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Sanford C. Bernstein began 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. DZ Bank upgraded shares of Verizon Communications from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $40.00 target price for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. TD Cowen upgraded shares of Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Finally, Tigress Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $55.00 target price on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Verizon Communications presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $46.53.

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).