Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Stake Lowered by Alliancebernstein L.P.

Alliancebernstein L.P. lessened its position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 9.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,895,004 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 484,467 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. owned approximately 0.12% of Verizon Communications worth $195,751,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in VZ. Erste Asset Management GmbH bought a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the 3rd quarter worth $5,985,000. HighTower Advisors LLC grew its position in Verizon Communications by 8.2% during the third quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 5,309,386 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $238,378,000 after purchasing an additional 404,137 shares in the last quarter. Harmony Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 29.7% in the third quarter. Harmony Asset Management LLC now owns 22,932 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,030,000 after acquiring an additional 5,247 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its position in Verizon Communications by 77.1% in the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 6,101,616 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $274,052,000 after purchasing an additional 2,656,396 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ingalls & Snyder LLC raised its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Ingalls & Snyder LLC now owns 102,258 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $4,592,000 after purchasing an additional 1,060 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Stock Up 0.0 %

Shares of VZ stock opened at $45.38 on Wednesday. Verizon Communications Inc. has a one year low of $37.59 and a one year high of $47.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 0.63 and a quick ratio of 0.59. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $42.36 and a 200 day moving average price of $42.08. The stock has a market cap of $191.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.96, a price-to-earnings-growth 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 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 business posted $1.08 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, April 10th will be paid a $0.6775 dividend. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.97%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is 65.46%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently commented on VZ. TD Cowen raised Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Argus upgraded shares of Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Oppenheimer raised their target price on Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on Verizon Communications in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $48.00 price target for the company. Ten equities research 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 company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $46.82.

Insider Activity at Verizon Communications

In other news, 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 value of $437,900.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Kyle Malady sold 11,085 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.88, for a total value of $453,154.80. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 14,590 shares in the company, valued at approximately $596,439.20. This trade represents a 43.17 % 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 in the last 90 days. 0.02% of the stock is owned by corporate 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).