Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Shares Sold by Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC

Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 5.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 4,334,530 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 251,441 shares during the period. Verizon Communications accounts for approximately 0.5% of Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 28th biggest holding. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC owned approximately 0.10% of Verizon Communications worth $173,338,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position 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 acquiring an additional 5,936,009 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 2,081,241 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 2.0% during the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC raised its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 2.8% during the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Swiss National Bank raised its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 12,493,998 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $561,105,000 after acquiring an additional 46,100 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VZ has been the topic of several research analyst reports. TD Cowen raised Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $42.00 in a research report on Friday, January 24th. KeyCorp lowered Verizon Communications from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Scotiabank lifted their price target on Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $47.50 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Tigress Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $55.00 price target on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $46.08.

Insider Activity at Verizon Communications

In related news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 11,085 shares of Verizon Communications stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.88, for a total transaction of $453,154.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 14,590 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $596,439.20. The trade was a 43.17 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders have sold a total of 39,085 shares of company stock worth $1,582,995 over the last three months. 0.02% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Verizon Communications Trading Up 1.3 %

Shares of VZ stock opened at $41.06 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $39.99 and its two-hundred day moving average is $41.56. Verizon Communications Inc. has a twelve month low of $37.58 and a twelve month high of $45.36. The company has a market capitalization of $172.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.17 and a beta of 0.45. 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 (NYSE:VZ) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.10 earnings per share 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 earned $1.08 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast 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 paid a $0.6775 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 10th. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.60%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 65.46%.

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).