St. James Investment Company LLC Sells 233,957 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

St. James Investment Company LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 63.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 136,262 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 233,957 shares during the period. Verizon Communications comprises approximately 0.9% of St. James Investment Company LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 24th biggest position. St. James Investment Company LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $5,449,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Fred Alger Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 2.9% in the third quarter. Fred Alger Management LLC now owns 124,094 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $5,573,000 after purchasing an additional 3,520 shares during the last quarter. Encompass More Asset Management bought a new position in Verizon Communications in the 3rd quarter worth about $251,000. Tradition Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 1.9% during the third quarter. Tradition Wealth Management LLC now owns 28,698 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,289,000 after acquiring an additional 525 shares during the period. Cobblestone Capital Advisors LLC NY raised its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 6.8% during the third quarter. Cobblestone Capital Advisors LLC NY now owns 9,123 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $410,000 after acquiring an additional 580 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Semmax Financial Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 1.0% in the third quarter. Semmax Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 55,480 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $2,492,000 after purchasing an additional 554 shares during the period. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have commented on VZ shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on Verizon Communications from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. TD Cowen raised shares of Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. DZ Bank upgraded shares of Verizon Communications from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $40.00 price target for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Argus raised shares of Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Scotiabank upped their target price on Verizon Communications from $47.50 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $46.71.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Verizon Communications news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 20,000 shares of the 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 sale, 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Vandana Venkatesh sold 10,000 shares of Verizon Communications 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 14,459 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $633,159.61. The trade was a 40.88 % 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 worth $2,020,895. 0.02% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Verizon Communications Trading Down 0.0 %

NYSE VZ opened at $44.96 on Monday. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12-month low of $37.59 and a 12-month high of $47.36. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $42.11 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $42.07. The company has a current ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. The stock has a market cap of $189.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.86, a P/E/G ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.41.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last issued 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 return on equity of 19.80% and a net margin of 12.99%. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.08 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Investors 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 yield of 6.03%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is currently 65.46%.

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).