Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Shares Sold by Bradley Foster & Sargent Inc. CT

Bradley Foster & Sargent Inc. CT cut its position in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 8.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 40,024 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 3,732 shares during the quarter. Bradley Foster & Sargent Inc. CT’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $1,601,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 6.2% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 101,273,082 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $4,548,163,000 after buying an additional 5,936,009 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Verizon Communications by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 95,824,245 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $4,289,054,000 after acquiring an additional 2,081,241 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its position in Verizon Communications by 2.0% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 29,074,297 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,305,727,000 after acquiring an additional 565,842 shares during the last quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 2.8% in the third quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 18,161,563 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $815,636,000 after purchasing an additional 502,949 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Swiss National Bank grew its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 0.4% in the third quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 12,493,998 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $561,105,000 after purchasing an additional 46,100 shares during the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Verizon Communications

In related news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, January 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.54, for a total value of $810,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 45,675 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,851,664.50. This 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 the SEC website. Insiders have sold a total of 39,085 shares of company stock valued at $1,582,995 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.02% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Stock Up 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE VZ opened at $42.77 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $180.05 billion, a PE ratio of 10.33, a P/E/G ratio of 4.40 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a quick ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $39.91 and a 200-day moving average of $41.61. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52-week low of $37.58 and a 52-week high of $45.36.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates 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 period in the previous year, the company posted $1.08 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, January 10th were issued a $0.6775 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 10th. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.34%. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is 65.46%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently issued reports on VZ shares. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective on Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $42.00 in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Tigress Financial reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $55.00 price target on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on Verizon Communications in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $48.00 price objective on the stock. Wolfe Research lifted their price objective on Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Verizon Communications from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 16th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $46.08.

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).