Visionary Horizons LLC Sells 2,154 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Visionary Horizons LLC lessened its holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 8.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 22,197 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 2,154 shares during the period. Verizon Communications accounts for 0.6% of Visionary Horizons LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 23rd biggest position. Visionary Horizons LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $888,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Quotient Wealth Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 42.7% during the fourth quarter. Quotient Wealth Partners LLC now owns 32,853 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,314,000 after buying an additional 9,834 shares in the last quarter. Northeast Investment Management increased its position in Verizon Communications by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Northeast Investment Management now owns 25,543 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,021,000 after acquiring an additional 655 shares during the period. RFP Financial Group LLC raised its stake in Verizon Communications by 6.3% in the 4th quarter. RFP Financial Group LLC now owns 5,426 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $217,000 after purchasing an additional 321 shares in the last quarter. Benedict Financial Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Benedict Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 170,596 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $6,822,000 after purchasing an additional 1,660 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Richard C. Young & CO. LTD. increased its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Richard C. Young & CO. LTD. now owns 363,598 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $14,540,000 after purchasing an additional 8,251 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Verizon Communications news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 8,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.88, for a total transaction of $319,040.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 6,590 shares in the company, valued at approximately $262,809.20. This trade represents a 54.83 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders sold a total of 39,085 shares of company stock valued at $1,582,995 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.02% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently issued reports on VZ. UBS Group boosted their price target on Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Wolfe Research increased their target price on Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on Verizon Communications in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $48.00 price target for the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Finally, DZ Bank raised shares of Verizon Communications from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $40.00 price target for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $46.08.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

Shares of VZ stock opened at $39.88 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $167.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.63, a PEG ratio of 4.17 and a beta of 0.45. 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 business’s 50-day moving average price is $40.18 and its 200-day moving average price is $41.53. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12 month low of $37.58 and a 12 month high of $45.36.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last posted its earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.10 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.11 by ($0.01). Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.80% and a net margin of 12.99%. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.08 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, January 10th were given a dividend of $0.6775 per share. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.80%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 10th. 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).