Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Shares Sold by Jacobs & Co. CA

Jacobs & Co. CA cut its stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 41.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 82,935 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 59,691 shares during the period. Jacobs & Co. CA’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $3,126,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. CGC Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the second quarter worth approximately $32,000. HBC Financial Services PLLC lifted its stake in Verizon Communications by 320.0% in the third quarter. HBC Financial Services PLLC now owns 1,050 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 800 shares during the period. RVW Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the third quarter worth about $36,000. Financial Management Professionals Inc. raised its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 58.4% during the fourth quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. now owns 1,096 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 404 shares during the period. Finally, True Wealth Design LLC bought a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter worth about $42,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Verizon Communications

In other Verizon Communications news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 24,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.80, for a total value of $979,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 35,201 shares in the company, valued at $1,436,200.80. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.02% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Verizon Communications Trading Up 1.7 %

Shares of VZ stock opened at $41.54 on Thursday. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52-week low of $30.14 and a 52-week high of $43.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a current ratio of 0.69. The firm has a market capitalization of $174.65 billion, a PE ratio of 15.05, a PEG ratio of 3.31 and a beta of 0.40. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $40.52 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $37.31.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 23rd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.08 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.08. The business had revenue of $35.10 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.60 billion. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 8.67% and a return on equity of 20.71%. The business’s revenue was down .6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.19 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.665 per share. This represents a $2.66 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.40%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 9th. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is 96.38%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on VZ shares. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on Verizon Communications from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 20th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Verizon Communications from $40.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. StockNews.com cut Verizon Communications from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 31st. Raymond James upped their target price on Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic upgraded Verizon Communications from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $33.00 to $39.00 in a report on Friday, March 22nd. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $43.86.

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).