Rowlandmiller & PARTNERS.ADV Sells 854 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Rowlandmiller & PARTNERS.ADV decreased its position in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 0.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 167,611 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 854 shares during the quarter. Verizon Communications accounts for approximately 1.4% of Rowlandmiller & PARTNERS.ADV’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 20th largest position. Rowlandmiller & PARTNERS.ADV’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $6,703,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of VZ. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new position in Verizon Communications during the third quarter worth about $31,000. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Verizon Communications by 69.6% during the fourth quarter. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 780 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 320 shares in the last quarter. Compass Financial Services Inc acquired a new position in Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. Hager Investment Management Services LLC acquired a new position in Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter worth about $38,000. Finally, Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC raised its stake in Verizon Communications by 655.5% during the fourth quarter. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 967 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 839 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Verizon Communications

In related news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 8,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.88, for a total value of $319,040.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 6,590 shares in the company, valued at approximately $262,809.20. The trade was a 54.83 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders have sold 39,085 shares of company stock worth $1,582,995 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.02% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VZ has been the subject of several recent research reports. Scotiabank upped their price objective on Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $47.50 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $42.00 in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $48.00 target price for the company. Finally, TD Cowen raised shares of Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $46.08.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

VZ opened at $42.77 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $180.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.33, a P/E/G ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.45. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1 year low of $37.58 and a 1 year high of $45.36. 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 firm’s fifty day moving average price is $39.91 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $41.63.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last released its 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 period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.08 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Cuts Dividend

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

About Verizon Communications

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).