Aull & Monroe Investment Management Corp Sells 2,600 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Aull & Monroe Investment Management Corp trimmed its stake in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 4.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 54,656 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 2,600 shares during the quarter. Aull & Monroe Investment Management Corp’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $2,186,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 7.3% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 108,694,230 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $4,346,682,000 after buying an additional 7,421,148 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted 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 worth $4,289,054,000 after buying an additional 2,081,241 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its position in Verizon Communications by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 29,074,297 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $1,305,727,000 after buying an additional 565,842 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter valued at $1,083,337,000. Finally, Parnassus Investments LLC raised its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 2.8% during the third quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 18,161,563 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $815,636,000 after acquiring an additional 502,949 shares during the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of Verizon Communications from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Argus raised Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $42.00 in a report on Friday, January 24th. Scotiabank upped their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.50 to $48.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday. Finally, Wolfe Research lifted their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $46.11.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

Shares of NYSE VZ opened at $42.83 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $180.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.35, a P/E/G ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.45. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $40.40 and its 200-day moving average price is $41.77. The company has a current ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1-year low of $37.59 and a 1-year high of $45.36.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last announced 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 period in the prior year, the business posted $1.08 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.6775 per share. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.33%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is currently 65.46%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Verizon Communications news, EVP Vandana Venkatesh sold 10,000 shares of Verizon Communications stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.79, for a total transaction 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, 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 transaction of $810,800.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 45,675 shares in the company, valued at $1,851,664.50. The trade was a 30.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 49,085 shares of company stock worth $2,020,895 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.02% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications 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).