Jag Capital Management LLC Sells 841 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Jag Capital Management LLC cut its holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 10.9% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 6,859 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 841 shares during the quarter. Jag Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $274,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of VZ. Mainstream Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new position in Verizon Communications during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. lifted its position in Verizon Communications by 69.6% during the 4th quarter. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 780 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 320 shares during the period. Compass Financial Services Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, Hager Investment Management Services LLC purchased a new position in Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $38,000. 62.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Verizon Communications

In other Verizon Communications news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.54, for a total value of $810,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 45,675 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,851,664.50. The trade was a 30.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Vandana Venkatesh sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.79, for a total transaction of $437,900.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 14,459 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $633,159.61. This trade represents a 40.88 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 49,085 shares of company stock worth $2,020,895. Company insiders own 0.02% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Trading Up 1.6 %

VZ stock opened at $43.81 on Tuesday. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1-year low of $37.58 and a 1-year high of $45.36. 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 firm has a market cap of $184.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.58, a P/E/G ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.45. The business’s 50 day moving average is $40.28 and its 200-day moving average is $41.75.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 period in the prior year, the business earned $1.08 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, April 10th will be issued a $0.6775 dividend. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.19%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 65.46%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VZ has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on Verizon Communications in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $48.00 price objective for the company. Scotiabank increased 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. TD Cowen raised shares of Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Ten equities 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 company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $46.11.

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).