Kennebec Savings Bank Sells 1,698 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Kennebec Savings Bank trimmed its stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 11.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 12,722 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 1,698 shares during the quarter. Kennebec Savings Bank’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $485,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in VZ. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new position in Verizon Communications during the third quarter worth $31,000. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 320 shares during the last quarter. Accordant Advisory Group Inc raised its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 137.6% in the 3rd quarter. Accordant Advisory Group Inc now owns 777 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 450 shares during the period. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Verizon Communications by 655.5% in the 4th quarter. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 967 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 839 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in Verizon Communications during the third quarter worth about $44,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

NYSE:VZ opened at $39.47 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $40.75 and its 200 day simple moving average is $41.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $166.13 billion, a PE ratio of 9.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.21 and a beta of 0.46. Verizon Communications Inc. has a twelve month low of $37.58 and a twelve month high of $45.36. The company has a quick ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21.

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

Verizon Communications Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.6775 per share. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.87%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 10th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 65.46%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on Verizon Communications in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $48.00 price objective for the company. Tigress Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $55.00 price objective on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Thursday. Argus raised shares of Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday. Wolfe Research lifted their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $46.08.

Insider Activity

In other Verizon Communications news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 20,000 shares of Verizon Communications stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 27th. The stock was 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 approximately $1,851,664.50. The trade was a 30.45 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.02% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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).