Calamos Advisors LLC Trims Position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Calamos Advisors LLC lessened its stake in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 1.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 829,784 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 13,399 shares during the period. Calamos Advisors LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $31,283,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of VZ. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA raised its holdings in Verizon Communications by 627.8% in the 4th quarter. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA now owns 655 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 565 shares during the period. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC raised its holdings in Verizon Communications by 130.1% in the 4th quarter. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC now owns 863 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 488 shares during the period. HBC Financial Services PLLC raised its holdings in 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 buying an additional 800 shares during the period. True Wealth Design LLC purchased a new stake in Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter valued at about $42,000. Finally, Financial Management Professionals Inc. raised its holdings in Verizon Communications by 58.4% in the 4th quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. now owns 1,096 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 404 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

Shares of Verizon Communications stock traded up $0.17 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $40.30. 2,545,902 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 19,501,754. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1 year low of $30.14 and a 1 year high of $43.42. The company has a current ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47. The business has a 50-day moving average of $40.54 and a 200-day moving average of $38.18. The stock has a market capitalization of $169.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.54, a P/E/G ratio of 3.25 and a beta of 0.41.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 23rd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.08. The firm had revenue of $35.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $34.60 billion. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 20.71% and a net margin of 8.67%. Verizon Communications’s revenue was down .6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.19 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 10th will be given a $0.665 dividend. This represents a $2.66 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.60%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 9th. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is 96.38%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VZ has been the subject of several research reports. UBS Group lifted their target price on Verizon Communications from $37.00 to $43.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. Barclays lifted their target price on Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 26th. Redburn Atlantic raised Verizon Communications from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $33.00 to $39.00 in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Verizon Communications from $40.00 to $44.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. Finally, Daiwa Capital Markets raised Verizon Communications from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $36.00 to $47.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $44.50.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Verizon Communications news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 24,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.80, for a total value of $979,200.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 35,201 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,436,200.80. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.02% of the stock is currently owned by company 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).