Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Shares Sold by Parnassus Investments LLC

Parnassus Investments LLC cut its stake in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 8.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 16,612,979 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 1,548,584 shares during the period. Verizon Communications makes up 1.5% of Parnassus Investments LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 28th biggest holding. Parnassus Investments LLC owned approximately 0.39% of Verizon Communications worth $664,353,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in VZ. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,083,337,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 7.3% in the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Amundi grew its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 32.3% in the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 25,227,069 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $983,445,000 after purchasing an additional 6,153,408 shares in the last quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the third quarter valued at approximately $177,799,000. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 184.3% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 5,428,540 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $217,087,000 after purchasing an additional 3,519,258 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

Shares of Verizon Communications stock opened at $43.69 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $40.94 and its 200-day simple moving average is $41.91. The stock has a market capitalization of $183.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.55, a PEG ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.41. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12 month low of $37.59 and a 12 month high of $47.36. 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 announced its earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.10 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 firm earned $1.08 earnings per share. As a group, equities 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 will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be issued a $0.6775 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.20%. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is 65.46%.

Insider Activity

In other Verizon Communications news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 8,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.88, for a total value of $319,040.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 6,590 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $262,809.20. The trade was a 54.83 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Vandana Venkatesh sold 10,000 shares of the business’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 represents a 40.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 49,085 shares of company stock valued at $2,020,895 in the last ninety days. 0.02% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on VZ shares. TD Cowen upgraded shares of Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Argus upgraded shares of Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Wolfe Research downgraded shares of Verizon Communications from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Tigress Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $55.00 price target on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $46.11.

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).