Hobbs Group Advisors LLC Trims Stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Hobbs Group Advisors LLC trimmed its position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 11.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 9,641 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 1,227 shares during the quarter. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $386,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P increased its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 6.9% in the 3rd quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 6,355 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $285,000 after acquiring an additional 408 shares during the period. Glenmede Trust Co. NA grew its stake in Verizon Communications by 2.1% in the third quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA now owns 284,538 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $12,779,000 after purchasing an additional 5,745 shares during the last quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board raised its holdings in Verizon Communications by 12.9% in the third quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 183,305 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $8,232,000 after purchasing an additional 20,900 shares in the last quarter. Suvretta Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 24.4% during the third quarter. Suvretta Capital Management LLC now owns 758,674 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $34,072,000 after buying an additional 148,770 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Providence Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 2.4% in the 3rd quarter. Providence Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 34,353 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $1,439,000 after buying an additional 789 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Trading Down 0.0 %

Shares of NYSE:VZ opened at $44.96 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12-month low of $37.59 and a 12-month high of $47.36. The business has a 50 day moving average of $42.11 and a two-hundred day moving average of $42.09. The company has a market capitalization of $189.25 billion, a PE ratio of 10.86, a PEG ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.41.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last posted its earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.10 earnings per share (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 quarter last year, the firm earned $1.08 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be given a dividend of $0.6775 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.03%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is currently 65.46%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Verizon Communications news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, January 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.54, for a total transaction of $810,800.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 45,675 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,851,664.50. This trade represents a 30.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Vandana Venkatesh sold 10,000 shares of the business’s 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 directly owns 14,459 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $633,159.61. This represents a 40.88 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 49,085 shares of company stock worth $2,020,895. 0.02% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on VZ shares. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. StockNews.com lowered Verizon Communications from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 13th. TD Cowen upgraded Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on Verizon Communications in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $48.00 price target for the company. Finally, Scotiabank increased their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.50 to $48.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $46.71.

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).