Global Assets Advisory LLC Sells 3,509 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Global Assets Advisory LLC trimmed its position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 11.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 26,784 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 3,509 shares during the period. Global Assets Advisory LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $1,077,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Mainstream Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Graney & King LLC bought a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. Compass Financial Services Inc acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter valued at about $33,000. Banque Transatlantique SA bought a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter worth about $35,000. Finally, Hager Investment Management Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter worth about $38,000. 62.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VZ has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Evercore ISI raised Verizon Communications from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $48.00 price target for the company in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $45.00 price objective (up from $42.00) on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. TD Cowen upgraded shares of Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $47.41.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Vandana Venkatesh sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.79, for a total value of $437,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,459 shares in the company, valued at approximately $633,159.61. This trade represents a 40.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Kyle Malady sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.48, for a total transaction of $212,400.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 36,508 shares in the company, valued at $1,550,859.84. This trade represents a 12.05 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 31,500 shares of company stock worth $1,376,300. 0.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Verizon Communications Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of VZ opened at $43.65 on Friday. Verizon Communications Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $37.59 and a fifty-two week high of $47.36. The business has a 50-day moving average of $43.74 and a 200 day moving average of $41.99. The firm has a market cap of $184.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a current ratio of 0.63.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) 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. The firm had revenue of $33.50 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $33.31 billion. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 12.99% and a return on equity of 19.80%. As a group, research analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 10th were issued a $0.6775 dividend. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.21%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 10th. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio 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).