Arnhold LLC Sells 26,571 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Arnhold LLC reduced its position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 5.0% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 509,128 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 26,571 shares during the quarter. Verizon Communications comprises 2.1% of Arnhold LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 13th largest holding. Arnhold LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $19,194,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of VZ. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA boosted its stake in Verizon Communications by 627.8% in the 4th quarter. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA now owns 655 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 565 shares in the last quarter. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC boosted its stake in Verizon Communications by 130.1% in the 4th quarter. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC now owns 863 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 488 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Trust Company N.A acquired a new stake in Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter worth approximately $37,000. Finally, Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in Verizon Communications by 3,233.3% in the 4th quarter. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 1,000 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 970 shares in the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Verizon Communications news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 24,000 shares of Verizon Communications stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.80, for a total transaction of $979,200.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 35,201 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,436,200.80. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.03% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

NYSE VZ traded down $0.60 on Tuesday, hitting $39.49. The company had a trading volume of 20,216,529 shares, compared to its average volume of 20,158,723. The company has a market capitalization of $166.22 billion, a PE ratio of 14.74, a PEG ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 0.41. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $40.43 and its 200-day moving average price is $38.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a current ratio of 0.71 and a quick ratio of 0.67. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12-month low of $30.14 and a 12-month high of $43.42.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.15 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.12 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $33 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.23 billion. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 8.44% and a return on equity of 20.41%. The firm’s revenue was up .3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.20 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.6 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 10th will be issued a $0.665 dividend. This represents a $2.66 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.74%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 9th. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is presently 99.25%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

VZ has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 30th. Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and set a $48.00 price objective on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Tuesday, April 23rd. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Verizon Communications from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 26th. Finally, Raymond James lifted their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $44.21.

About Verizon Communications

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).