Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Shares Sold by Valley National Advisers Inc.

Valley National Advisers Inc. trimmed its position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 4.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 21,747 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 928 shares during the period. Valley National Advisers Inc.’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $912,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of VZ. State of Alaska Department of Revenue lifted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 0.3% in the 1st quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 628,522 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $26,372,000 after acquiring an additional 2,110 shares in the last quarter. Yoder Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the 1st quarter worth $214,000. WFA Asset Management Corp increased its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 12.5% during the 1st quarter. WFA Asset Management Corp now owns 22,915 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $962,000 after purchasing an additional 2,542 shares during the last quarter. Sloy Dahl & Holst LLC raised its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 1.8% during the 1st quarter. Sloy Dahl & Holst LLC now owns 20,968 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $880,000 after purchasing an additional 375 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. boosted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 0.5% in the first quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. now owns 10,948,472 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $459,398,000 after purchasing an additional 56,242 shares in the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:VZ opened at $41.11 on Thursday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $40.16 and its 200-day moving average is $40.11. The company has a current ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42. The firm has a market capitalization of $173.04 billion, a PE ratio of 15.34, a PEG ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.41. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1-year low of $30.14 and a 1-year high of $43.42.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last issued its earnings results on Monday, April 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.15 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.12 by $0.03. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 8.44% and a return on equity of 20.41%. The business had revenue of $33 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.23 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.20 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up .3% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.59 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.665 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 10th. This represents a $2.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.47%. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is presently 99.25%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have weighed in on VZ shares. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on Verizon Communications from $36.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Monday. They issued a “buy” rating and a $50.00 price target on the stock. Tigress Financial upped their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 17th. Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $48.00 target price on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Verizon Communications from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, May 4th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $45.14.

About Verizon Communications

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).