Summit Global Investments Reduces Stock Holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Summit Global Investments cut its holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 16.1% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 20,971 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 4,012 shares during the quarter. Summit Global Investments’ holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $791,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in VZ. Pacifica Partners Inc. grew its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 4.6% during the 4th quarter. Pacifica Partners Inc. now owns 5,800 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $223,000 after acquiring an additional 255 shares in the last quarter. Selective Wealth Management Inc. grew its position in Verizon Communications by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. Selective Wealth Management Inc. now owns 9,511 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $374,000 after purchasing an additional 257 shares in the last quarter. Horizon Bancorp Inc. IN increased its stake in Verizon Communications by 24.9% in the 4th quarter. Horizon Bancorp Inc. IN now owns 1,293 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $49,000 after buying an additional 258 shares during the last quarter. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Verizon Communications by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC now owns 10,961 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $413,000 after buying an additional 260 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Western Financial Corp CA boosted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Western Financial Corp CA now owns 16,564 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $624,000 after buying an additional 271 shares during the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Verizon Communications

In related news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 24,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.80, for a total value of $979,200.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 35,201 shares in the company, valued at $1,436,200.80. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.02% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently issued reports on VZ shares. Barclays lifted their target price on Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 26th. Tigress Financial boosted their price target on Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 25th. Redburn Atlantic raised Verizon Communications from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $33.00 to $39.00 in a report on Friday, March 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $40.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 23rd. Finally, Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $48.00 price target on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Verizon Communications presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $44.21.

Verizon Communications Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of VZ opened at $38.89 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $163.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a current ratio of 0.71. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52 week low of $30.14 and a 52 week high of $43.42. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $40.32 and its 200 day simple moving average is $38.79.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last posted its earnings results on Monday, April 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.15 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.12 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $33 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $33.23 billion. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 20.41% and a net margin of 8.44%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.20 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.6 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 10th were given a dividend of $0.665 per share. This represents a $2.66 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.84%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, April 9th. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is 99.25%.

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).