Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Shares Sold by Syntax Research Inc.

Syntax Research Inc. cut its holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 32.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 883 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 417 shares during the period. Syntax Research Inc.’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $35,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of VZ. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Verizon Communications by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 363,824,525 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $14,549,343,000 after purchasing an additional 5,697,337 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Verizon Communications by 7.3% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 108,694,230 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $4,346,682,000 after purchasing an additional 7,421,148 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Verizon Communications by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 95,824,245 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $4,289,054,000 after purchasing an additional 2,081,241 shares during the period. FMR LLC boosted its stake in Verizon Communications by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 29,074,297 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $1,305,727,000 after purchasing an additional 565,842 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,083,337,000. 62.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Verizon Communications

In related news, EVP Vandana Venkatesh sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.79, for a total transaction of $437,900.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,459 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $633,159.61. The trade was a 40.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Kyle Malady sold 8,000 shares of the business’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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 6,590 shares in the company, valued at $262,809.20. The trade was a 54.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 49,085 shares of company stock valued at $2,020,895 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.02% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Wolfe Research lowered shares of Verizon Communications from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Scotiabank boosted their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.50 to $48.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. TD Cowen raised shares of Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $42.00 in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Verizon Communications has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $46.53.

Verizon Communications Stock Up 0.7 %

NYSE VZ opened at $44.06 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 0.63 and a quick ratio of 0.59. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $41.52 and its 200 day simple moving average is $42.01. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12 month low of $37.59 and a 12 month high of $47.36. The company has a market capitalization of $185.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.64, a PEG ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.41.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last released its earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.10 earnings per share 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 in the previous year, the company earned $1.08 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be given a $0.6775 dividend. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.15%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 65.46%.

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).