Natixis Decreases Stock Holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Natixis decreased its holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 29.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 522,941 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 215,335 shares during the period. Natixis’ holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $20,912,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Mainstream Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 69.6% in the 4th 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 during the last quarter. Graney & King LLC purchased a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter worth about $32,000. Compass Financial Services Inc bought a new position in Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, Hager Investment Management Services LLC purchased a new stake in Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter worth about $38,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have weighed in on VZ shares. Argus upgraded Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Evercore ISI raised shares of Verizon Communications from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $48.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Scotiabank upped their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $48.50 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Wolfe Research downgraded Verizon Communications from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $46.92.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.54, for a total transaction of $810,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 45,675 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,851,664.50. This trade represents a 30.45 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Vandana Venkatesh sold 10,000 shares of the company’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 transaction of $437,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 14,459 shares in the company, valued at approximately $633,159.61. This represents a 40.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 49,085 shares of company stock worth $2,020,895 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.02% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

Shares of Verizon Communications stock opened at $44.01 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $185.26 billion, a PE ratio of 10.63, a P/E/G ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.41. Verizon Communications Inc. has a twelve month low of $37.59 and a twelve month high of $47.36. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $43.46 and a 200 day moving average price of $42.03. The company has a quick ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.10 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 in the previous year, the business posted $1.08 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced 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 6.16%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 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).