Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC Sells 11,330 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC cut its stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 6.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 151,729 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 11,330 shares during the period. Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $6,068,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Merit Financial Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 27.4% in the 4th quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 105,629 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $4,224,000 after acquiring an additional 22,706 shares during the period. HB Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 11.3% in the fourth quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 160,587 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $6,420,000 after purchasing an additional 16,365 shares in the last quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in Verizon Communications by 7.8% in the fourth quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC now owns 132,370 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $5,293,000 after purchasing an additional 9,565 shares during the period. Krilogy Financial LLC boosted its stake in Verizon Communications by 33.4% during the fourth quarter. Krilogy Financial LLC now owns 19,481 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $779,000 after buying an additional 4,877 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Financial Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Verizon Communications by 27.0% in the 4th quarter. Financial Advisors LLC now owns 21,399 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $856,000 after buying an additional 4,545 shares during the period. 62.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 7,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.88, for a total value of $329,100.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 19,008 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $834,071.04. This trade represents a 28.29% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Vandana Venkatesh sold 10,000 shares of Verizon Communications stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.79, for a total transaction of $437,900.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 14,459 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $633,159.61. This represents a 40.88% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 31,500 shares of company stock worth $1,376,300 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VZ has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Argus raised shares of Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Oppenheimer raised their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on Verizon Communications from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Evercore ISI upgraded Verizon Communications from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $48.00 target price for the company in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Wolfe Research cut Verizon Communications from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. 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. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $47.41.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

Verizon Communications stock opened at $43.97 on Monday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $43.58 and a 200 day simple moving average of $42.04. The stock has a market capitalization of $185.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.62, a P/E/G ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a quick ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12-month low of $37.59 and a 12-month high of $47.36.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.19 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.15 by $0.04. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 12.99% and a return on equity of 19.80%. The company had revenue of $33.50 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $33.31 billion. On average, research analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, April 10th were given a $0.6775 dividend. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.16%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 10th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 64.52%.

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).