SOL Capital Management CO Sells 1,992 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

SOL Capital Management CO decreased its holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 18.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 9,104 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 1,992 shares during the period. SOL Capital Management CO’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $343,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA raised its position in Verizon Communications by 627.8% during the fourth quarter. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA now owns 655 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 565 shares during the period. CGC Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the 2nd quarter valued at $32,000. HBC Financial Services PLLC increased its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 320.0% in the 3rd quarter. HBC Financial Services PLLC now owns 1,050 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 800 shares during the period. RVW Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the 3rd quarter valued at $36,000. Finally, Financial Management Professionals Inc. grew its stake in Verizon Communications by 58.4% during the 4th quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. now owns 1,096 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 404 shares during the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on VZ shares. KeyCorp boosted their price objective on Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. StockNews.com cut Verizon Communications from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 30th. Redburn Atlantic upgraded Verizon Communications from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $33.00 to $39.00 in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. Finally, Daiwa Capital Markets upgraded Verizon Communications from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price target for the company from $36.00 to $47.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $44.50.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:VZ opened at $40.84 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47. The company has a market cap of $171.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.80, a PEG ratio of 3.42 and a beta of 0.41. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52 week low of $30.14 and a 52 week high of $43.42. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $40.73 and a 200 day moving average price of $37.90.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 23rd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.08 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.08. The firm had revenue of $35.10 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.60 billion. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 8.67% and a return on equity of 20.71%. The firm’s revenue was down .6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.19 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.6 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 10th will be paid a $0.665 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 9th. This represents a $2.66 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.51%. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is currently 96.38%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 24,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.80, for a total transaction of $979,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 35,201 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,436,200.80. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.03% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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).