Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Shares Sold by Lincluden Management Ltd.

Lincluden Management Ltd. decreased its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 0.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 265,349 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 1,892 shares during the quarter. Verizon Communications makes up approximately 1.3% of Lincluden Management Ltd.’s holdings, making the stock its 19th biggest holding. Lincluden Management Ltd.’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $10,611,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of VZ. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. increased its position in Verizon Communications by 69.6% in the fourth quarter. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 780 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 320 shares during the period. Compass Financial Services Inc bought a new stake in Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter valued at $33,000. Hager Investment Management Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter valued at $38,000. Finally, Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 655.5% during the fourth quarter. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 967 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 839 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently weighed in on VZ shares. Tigress Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $55.00 price objective on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Argus raised Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $42.00 in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Scotiabank boosted their price target on Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $47.50 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, DZ Bank raised Verizon Communications from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $40.00 price target on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Verizon Communications has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $46.08.

Verizon Communications Trading Up 1.3 %

Verizon Communications stock opened at $43.31 on Tuesday. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1 year low of $37.58 and a 1 year high of $45.36. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $39.95 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $41.65. The firm has a market cap of $182.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a current ratio of 0.63.

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 last year, the firm earned $1.08 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 10th were paid a dividend of $0.6775 per share. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.26%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 10th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is presently 65.46%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 8,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.88, for a total value of $319,040.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 6,590 shares in the company, valued at $262,809.20. This represents a 54.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Insiders sold a total of 39,085 shares of company stock worth $1,582,995 over the last ninety days. 0.02% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Verizon Communications Company 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).