First Interstate Bank Lowers Stock Holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

First Interstate Bank trimmed its stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 39.1% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 5,812 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 3,732 shares during the period. First Interstate Bank’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $219,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Certified Advisory Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 1.0% in the 1st quarter. Certified Advisory Corp now owns 23,297 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $1,187,000 after buying an additional 233 shares in the last quarter. Pacifica Partners Inc. raised its position in Verizon Communications by 4.6% in the 4th quarter. Pacifica Partners Inc. now owns 5,800 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $223,000 after purchasing an additional 255 shares during the last quarter. Selective Wealth Management Inc. raised its position in Verizon Communications by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. Selective Wealth Management Inc. now owns 9,511 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $374,000 after purchasing an additional 257 shares during the last quarter. Horizon Bancorp Inc. IN raised its position in Verizon Communications by 24.9% in the 4th quarter. Horizon Bancorp Inc. IN now owns 1,293 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $49,000 after purchasing an additional 258 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Princeton Global Asset Management LLC raised its position in Verizon Communications by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC now owns 10,961 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $413,000 after purchasing an additional 260 shares during the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

NYSE VZ traded down $0.34 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $39.77. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 14,016,776 shares, compared to its average volume of 16,262,630. The stock has a market cap of $167.20 billion, a PE ratio of 14.41, a PEG ratio of 3.27 and a beta of 0.41. Verizon Communications Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $30.14 and a fifty-two week high of $43.42. The company’s 50-day moving average is $40.55 and its two-hundred day moving average is $38.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a current ratio of 0.69.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 23rd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.08. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 8.67% and a return on equity of 20.71%. The company had revenue of $35.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $34.60 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.19 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down .6% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.58 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.665 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 9th. This represents a $2.66 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.69%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is currently 96.38%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 24,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was 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 owns 35,201 shares in the company, valued at $1,436,200.80. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently commented on VZ shares. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $40.00 to $44.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. Tigress Financial upped their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 25th. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Verizon Communications from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $46.00 price target for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 4th. KeyCorp upped their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. Finally, Raymond James upped their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $44.50.

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).