Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Stake Trimmed by Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio

Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio lowered its stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 3.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,939,381 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after selling 67,427 shares during the quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio's holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $77,556,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

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Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Mainstream Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Graney & King LLC purchased a new position in Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. Compass Financial Services Inc purchased a new position in Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. Banque Transatlantique SA purchased a new position in Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, Hager Investment Management Services LLC purchased a new position in Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter valued at about $38,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.06% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Verizon Communications

In other news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 9,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.10, for a total transaction of $396,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 10,008 shares in the company, valued at $441,352.80. The trade was a 47.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Vandana Venkatesh sold 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.79, for a total value of $437,900.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 14,459 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $633,159.61. This trade represents a 40.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 31,500 shares of company stock worth $1,376,300 over the last three months. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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Several equities analysts have weighed in on VZ shares. Oppenheimer lifted their target price on Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. Wolfe Research cut Verizon Communications from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Argus raised Verizon Communications to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Scotiabank boosted their price target on Verizon Communications from $48.50 to $49.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, DZ Bank raised Verizon Communications from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $40.00 price target for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $47.41.

View Our Latest Report on Verizon Communications

Verizon Communications Stock Down 1.5%

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VZ opened at $43.10 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $43.62 and a 200 day moving average price of $42.10. Verizon Communications Inc. has a twelve month low of $37.59 and a twelve month high of $47.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a current ratio of 0.63. The firm has a market cap of $181.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.39.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.19 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.15 by $0.04. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.80% and a net margin of 12.99%. The firm had revenue of $33.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.31 billion. Research analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, April 10th were issued a $0.6775 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.29%. Verizon Communications's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 64.52%.

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).

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