Baker Avenue Asset Management LP Cuts Holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Baker Avenue Asset Management LP lowered its holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 4.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 11,771 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 603 shares during the quarter. Baker Avenue Asset Management LP’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $471,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 27.7% during the 4th quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 222,366 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $8,892,000 after acquiring an additional 48,294 shares during the last quarter. Roffman Miller Associates Inc. PA boosted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Roffman Miller Associates Inc. PA now owns 382,678 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $15,303,000 after purchasing an additional 6,795 shares during the last quarter. Burney Co. grew its position in Verizon Communications by 30.4% in the 4th quarter. Burney Co. now owns 186,621 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $7,463,000 after purchasing an additional 43,472 shares during the period. Global Wealth Management Investment Advisory Inc. purchased a new stake in Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter valued at $4,333,000. Finally, Private Advisor Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 64.6% during the 4th quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 1,394,921 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $55,783,000 after buying an additional 547,384 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Verizon Communications news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 7,500 shares of Verizon Communications stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.88, for a total value of $329,100.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 19,008 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $834,071.04. The trade was a 28.29 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Vandana Venkatesh sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.79, for a total value of $437,900.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,459 shares in the company, valued at $633,159.61. This trade represents a 40.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 22,500 shares of company stock worth $979,400. Corporate insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Stock Down 0.4 %

NYSE VZ opened at $43.55 on Tuesday. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12 month low of $37.59 and a 12 month high of $47.36. The company has a current ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. The stock has a market cap of $183.62 billion, a PE ratio of 10.52, a P/E/G ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.39. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $43.69 and its 200 day moving average is $41.94.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.19 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.15 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $33.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.31 billion. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 12.99% and a return on equity of 19.80%. Research analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 10th were issued a $0.6775 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.22%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 64.52%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently commented on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on Verizon Communications from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Wolfe Research lowered shares of Verizon Communications from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. Tigress Financial raised their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $55.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 28th. Oppenheimer upped their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Finally, Evercore ISI raised shares of Verizon Communications from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $48.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $47.41.

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).