By otakuyassine3@gmail.com 
Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. trimmed its stake in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ – Free Report) by 11.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 97,673 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 13,252 shares during the period. Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co.’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $3,906,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.
Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Valley National Advisers Inc. grew its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 7.6% during the 4th quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 20,668 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $826,000 after purchasing an additional 1,454 shares during the period. McAdam LLC increased its holdings in Verizon Communications by 4.5% in the fourth quarter. McAdam LLC now owns 19,642 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $785,000 after buying an additional 853 shares in the last quarter. Round Rock Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter worth about $213,000. Sutton Place Investors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 11.8% during the 4th quarter. Sutton Place Investors LLC now owns 6,722 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $269,000 after acquiring an additional 707 shares in the last quarter. Finally, WFA Asset Management Corp grew its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 6.5% during the 4th quarter. WFA Asset Management Corp now owns 26,111 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $1,044,000 after acquiring an additional 1,604 shares during the period. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
Insider Activity
In related news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 11,085 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 14,590 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $596,439.20. This trade represents a 43.17 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.02% of the company’s stock.
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth
A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on VZ shares. Scotiabank upped their price target on Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $47.50 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. UBS Group upped their target price on Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. StockNews.com cut shares of Verizon Communications from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Argus upgraded shares of Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $46.08.
Read Our Latest Analysis on Verizon Communications
Verizon Communications Stock Down 0.2 %
Shares of NYSE:VZ opened at $39.41 on Monday. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52-week low of $37.58 and a 52-week high of $45.36. The stock has a market cap of $165.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.52, a PEG ratio of 4.21 and a beta of 0.46. The business has a fifty day moving average of $40.61 and a two-hundred day moving average of $41.57. 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 – Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 24th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.10 earnings per share (EPS) 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 quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.08 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current year.
Verizon Communications Cuts Dividend
The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.6775 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 10th. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.88%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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).
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