Pitcairn Co. Has $2.47 Million Stock Position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Pitcairn Co. reduced its stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 25.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 61,643 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 21,517 shares during the period. Pitcairn Co.’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $2,465,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Grant Private Wealth Management Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter worth approximately $746,000. Arete Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 4.9% in the fourth quarter. Arete Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 67,597 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $2,694,000 after purchasing an additional 3,161 shares in the last quarter. World Investment Advisors increased its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 18.5% in the 4th quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 224,537 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $8,979,000 after buying an additional 35,010 shares during the period. Martin Worley Group bought a new stake in Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter worth about $201,000. Finally, OneAscent Financial Services LLC boosted its stake in Verizon Communications by 35.8% in the fourth quarter. OneAscent Financial Services LLC now owns 14,587 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $583,000 after acquiring an additional 3,846 shares during the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Verizon Communications Trading Down 1.4 %

VZ stock opened at $44.74 on Thursday. Verizon Communications Inc. has a one year low of $37.59 and a one year high of $47.36. The stock has a market cap of $188.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $42.48 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $42.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 0.63 and a quick ratio of 0.59.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last released its quarterly 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 net margin of 12.99% and a return on equity of 19.80%. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.08 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.6775 per share. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.06%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is 65.46%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Verizon Communications

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 stock was sold at an average price of $39.88, for a total value of $319,040.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 6,590 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $262,809.20. This trade represents a 54.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Vandana Venkatesh sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, 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. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 49,085 shares of company stock worth $2,020,895. Insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

VZ has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Argus upgraded shares of Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. StockNews.com cut shares of Verizon Communications from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $45.00 target price (up from $42.00) on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. DZ Bank upgraded 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. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price objective on Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $46.82.

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).