Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Shares Sold by Corebridge Financial Inc.

Corebridge Financial Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 4.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,074,055 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 46,329 shares during the period. Corebridge Financial Inc.’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $42,951,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. United Services Automobile Association lifted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. United Services Automobile Association now owns 97,618 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $3,904,000 after purchasing an additional 481 shares in the last quarter. Mountain Hill Investment Partners Corp. acquired a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter valued at about $98,000. Crowley Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter valued at about $99,000. FCA Corp TX lifted its position in Verizon Communications by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. FCA Corp TX now owns 15,884 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $635,000 after acquiring an additional 504 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 363,824,525 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $14,549,343,000 after acquiring an additional 5,697,337 shares during the period. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Verizon Communications Stock Up 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE:VZ opened at $44.06 on Monday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $41.52 and its two-hundred day moving average is $42.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a current ratio of 0.63. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1-year low of $37.59 and a 1-year high of $47.36. The stock has a market capitalization of $185.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.41.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 24th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.10 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.11 by ($0.01). Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.80% and a net margin of 12.99%. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.08 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, April 10th will be given a dividend of $0.6775 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.15%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is currently 65.46%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Vandana Venkatesh sold 10,000 shares of Verizon Communications stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 approximately $633,159.61. The trade was a 40.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Kyle Malady sold 11,085 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.88, for a total value of $453,154.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 14,590 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $596,439.20. This trade represents a 43.17 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 49,085 shares of company stock worth $2,020,895 in the last three months. 0.02% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on VZ. StockNews.com lowered shares of Verizon Communications from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. 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. TD Cowen raised shares of Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Wolfe Research downgraded Verizon Communications from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $42.00 in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Ten 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $46.53.

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).