Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Shares Sold by Check Capital Management Inc. CA

Check Capital Management Inc. CA decreased its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 10.8% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 11,526 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 1,402 shares during the period. Verizon Communications comprises about 0.0% of Check Capital Management Inc. CA’s portfolio, making the stock its 23rd largest holding. Check Capital Management Inc. CA’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $448,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VZ. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in Verizon Communications by 88,532.0% during the fourth quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 79,084,569 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $3,115,932,000 after purchasing an additional 78,995,341 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter valued at $1,829,675,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its stake in Verizon Communications by 255.9% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 48,058,216 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $1,893,493,000 after purchasing an additional 34,553,565 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Verizon Communications by 16.5% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 85,876,978 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $3,358,991,000 after purchasing an additional 12,189,613 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased its stake in Verizon Communications by 21.4% during the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 67,976,459 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $2,678,273,000 after purchasing an additional 11,987,691 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 61.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

Shares of NYSE VZ opened at $34.04 on Wednesday. Verizon Communications Inc. has a twelve month low of $31.25 and a twelve month high of $42.61. The company has a current ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.43. The company has a market capitalization of $143.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.81, a PEG ratio of 2.04 and a beta of 0.36. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $33.88 and a two-hundred day moving average of $36.04.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 25th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.21 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.17 by $0.04. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 15.58% and a return on equity of 22.28%. The company had revenue of $32.60 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $33.30 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.31 EPS. Verizon Communications’s revenue was down 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.73 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, October 10th will be issued a $0.665 dividend. This represents a $2.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.81%. This is an increase from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.65. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 6th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is presently 52.20%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Verizon Communications

In other Verizon Communications news, EVP Samantha Hammock sold 12,557 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.29, for a total transaction of $418,022.53. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.02% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently commented on VZ shares. Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and set a $43.00 price target on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Tuesday, August 22nd. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and set a $44.00 price target on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Thursday, August 3rd. StockNews.com lowered shares of Verizon Communications from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 5th. HSBC lowered their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $42.50 to $39.00 in a research report on Monday, June 5th. Finally, Edward Jones lowered shares of Verizon Communications from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, July 17th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Verizon Communications currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $43.40.

Verizon Communications Profile

Verizon Communications Inc, through its subsidiaries, provides 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).