Carret Asset Management LLC Sells 15,817 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Carret Asset Management LLC decreased its position in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 11.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 126,566 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 15,817 shares during the quarter. Carret Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $4,772,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of VZ. Ziegler Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 5.0% during the third quarter. Ziegler Capital Management LLC now owns 67,895 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $2,200,000 after acquiring an additional 3,241 shares in the last quarter. 1900 Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the third quarter valued at approximately $201,000. BTC Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 7.8% during the third quarter. BTC Capital Management Inc. now owns 44,695 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $1,449,000 after buying an additional 3,242 shares during the last quarter. Argus Investors Counsel Inc. boosted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 6.5% during the third quarter. Argus Investors Counsel Inc. now owns 37,785 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $1,225,000 after buying an additional 2,320 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CreativeOne Wealth LLC boosted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 40.9% during the third quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC now owns 76,215 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $2,470,000 after buying an additional 22,126 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE VZ traded down $0.21 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $39.49. 15,942,031 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 20,223,914. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52-week low of $30.14 and a 52-week high of $43.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a current ratio of 0.71 and a quick ratio of 0.65. The company has a 50-day moving average of $40.52 and a 200-day moving average of $38.44. The stock has a market capitalization of $166.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.14 and a beta of 0.41.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.15 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.12 by $0.03. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 20.41% and a net margin of 8.44%. The firm had revenue of $33 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $33.23 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.20 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .3% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 10th will be given a dividend of $0.665 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 9th. This represents a $2.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.74%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is presently 99.25%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 15,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.33, for a total transaction of $604,950.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 59,201 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,387,576.33. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently issued reports on VZ shares. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $48.00 target price on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $40.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. StockNews.com cut Verizon Communications from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. Redburn Atlantic raised Verizon Communications from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $33.00 to $39.00 in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective on Verizon Communications from $37.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $44.21.

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).