Pinnacle Wealth Planning Services Inc. Sells 3,856 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Pinnacle Wealth Planning Services Inc. lowered its position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 19.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 16,482 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 3,856 shares during the period. Pinnacle Wealth Planning Services Inc.’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $659,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Swedbank AB grew its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 0.8% during the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 5,174,541 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $232,389,000 after buying an additional 39,403 shares during the last quarter. Cary Street Partners Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 3.4% during the third quarter. Cary Street Partners Asset Management LLC now owns 7,628 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $343,000 after buying an additional 249 shares during the last quarter. Hanlon Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the third quarter valued at $208,000. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 26.3% during the third quarter. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC now owns 13,098 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $588,000 after buying an additional 2,730 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Crescent Grove Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 124.1% during the third quarter. Crescent Grove Advisors LLC now owns 37,517 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $1,685,000 after buying an additional 20,778 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 11,085 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.88, for a total transaction of $453,154.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 14,590 shares in the company, valued at $596,439.20. This represents a 43.17 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Vandana Venkatesh sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.79, for a total transaction of $437,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 14,459 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $633,159.61. This trade represents a 40.88 % 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 valued at $2,020,895 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.02% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Argus raised shares of Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. TD Cowen upgraded shares of Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report 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 objective for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Scotiabank upped 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 report on Monday. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Verizon Communications from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $46.11.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

VZ stock opened at $42.83 on Thursday. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52-week low of $37.59 and a 52-week high of $45.36. 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 company has a fifty day moving average price of $40.40 and a 200-day moving average price of $41.77. The company has a market capitalization of $180.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.35, a PEG ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.45.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last posted its quarterly 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 last year, the firm earned $1.08 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be given a $0.6775 dividend. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.33%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 65.46%.

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).