Trillium Asset Management LLC Sells 376,071 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Trillium Asset Management LLC cut its position in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 92.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 31,270 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 376,071 shares during the period. Trillium Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $1,250,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in VZ. Kirtland Hills Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Kirtland Hills Capital Management LLC now owns 10,968 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $439,000 after buying an additional 252 shares in the last quarter. First Dallas Securities Inc. increased its stake in Verizon Communications by 0.8% during the third quarter. First Dallas Securities Inc. now owns 31,728 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,425,000 after acquiring an additional 257 shares during the last quarter. JB Capital LLC raised its position in Verizon Communications by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. JB Capital LLC now owns 20,816 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $832,000 after purchasing an additional 258 shares during the period. Curbstone Financial Management Corp lifted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Curbstone Financial Management Corp now owns 34,786 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $1,391,000 after purchasing an additional 262 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 9.9% in the 4th quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 2,915 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $117,000 after purchasing an additional 263 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Verizon Communications

In other news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.54, for a total value of $810,800.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 45,675 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,851,664.50. This trade represents a 30.45 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Vandana Venkatesh sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 14,459 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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 90 days, insiders have sold 49,085 shares of company stock valued at $2,020,895. 0.02% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

VZ stock opened at $43.92 on Thursday. 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 1-year low of $37.59 and a 1-year high of $47.36. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $41.30 and a 200 day moving average price of $41.98. The company has a market capitalization of $184.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.61, a PEG ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.41.

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 the consensus estimate 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 in the prior year, the business posted $1.08 earnings per share. As a group, 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be given a dividend of $0.6775 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.17%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 65.46%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on VZ. Scotiabank raised their price target on Verizon Communications from $47.50 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $42.00 in a report on Friday, January 24th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Verizon Communications from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 13th. Tigress Financial reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $55.00 price objective on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, DZ Bank raised Verizon Communications from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $40.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Eleven investment 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $46.11.

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).