Freedom Together Foundation Trims Stock Holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Freedom Together Foundation cut its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 79.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 7,087 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 27,000 shares during the quarter. Verizon Communications makes up approximately 0.0% of Freedom Together Foundation’s holdings, making the stock its 22nd largest holding. Freedom Together Foundation’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $283,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Mainstream Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Graney & King LLC bought a new position in Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Compass Financial Services Inc acquired a new position in Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter worth $33,000. Banque Transatlantique SA bought a new stake in Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter valued at $35,000. Finally, Hager Investment Management Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter worth $38,000. 62.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 9,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.10, for a total value of $396,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 10,008 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $441,352.80. This represents a 47.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, 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 in the company, valued at $633,159.61. The trade was a 40.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 31,500 shares of company stock worth $1,376,300 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Trading Up 0.1 %

NYSE:VZ opened at $43.65 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $43.74 and a 200 day simple moving average of $41.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $184.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.39. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1-year low of $37.59 and a 1-year high of $47.36. The company has a quick ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.19 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.15 by $0.04. The company 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%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The firm 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.21%. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is currently 64.52%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on VZ. DZ Bank raised shares of Verizon Communications from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $40.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Scotiabank increased their price target on Verizon Communications from $48.50 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $45.00 price objective (up from $42.00) on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Tuesday, March 25th. StockNews.com cut Verizon Communications from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. Finally, Tigress Financial boosted their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $55.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 28th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target 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).