Duncker Streett & Co. Inc. Sells 1,912 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Duncker Streett & Co. Inc. lowered its stake in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 14.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 10,975 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 1,912 shares during the period. Duncker Streett & Co. Inc.’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $414,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Sloy Dahl & Holst LLC raised its position in Verizon Communications by 11.7% in the 4th quarter. Sloy Dahl & Holst LLC now owns 20,593 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $776,000 after buying an additional 2,155 shares during the last quarter. Scissortail Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Verizon Communications by 26.1% in the 4th quarter. Scissortail Wealth Management LLC now owns 122,525 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $4,619,000 after buying an additional 25,382 shares during the last quarter. Tyche Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $835,000. Financial Strategies Group Inc. raised its position in Verizon Communications by 14.0% in the 4th quarter. Financial Strategies Group Inc. now owns 120,235 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $4,963,000 after buying an additional 14,754 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its position in Verizon Communications by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 2,170,563 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $81,830,000 after buying an additional 14,954 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

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 of the company’s stock, valued at $1,436,200.80. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

VZ traded down $0.34 on Wednesday, reaching $39.77. The stock had a trading volume of 14,016,776 shares, compared to its average volume of 16,262,630. Verizon Communications Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $30.14 and a fifty-two week high of $43.42. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $40.55 and a 200-day moving average of $38.16. The company has a current ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47. The company has a market capitalization of $167.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.27 and a beta of 0.41.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, January 23rd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.08. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 20.71% and a net margin of 8.67%. The business had revenue of $35.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $34.60 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.19 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down .6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.58 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. Raymond James boosted their price target on Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted 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. UBS Group boosted their price target on Verizon Communications from $37.00 to $43.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. Citigroup boosted their price target on Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 30th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic upgraded Verizon Communications from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $33.00 to $39.00 in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price 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).