LongView Wealth Management Lowers Holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

LongView Wealth Management trimmed its stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 14.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 8,045 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 1,308 shares during the quarter. LongView Wealth Management’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $365,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of VZ. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. grew its position in Verizon Communications by 81.0% during the first quarter. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. now owns 543 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 243 shares during the period. Mainstream Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Mattson Financial Services LLC grew its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 114.6% during the 4th quarter. Mattson Financial Services LLC now owns 777 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 415 shares during the period. Capital A Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, Graney & King LLC purchased a new stake in Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter worth approximately $32,000. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

Shares of VZ stock opened at $41.61 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a current ratio of 0.61. Verizon Communications Inc. has a one year low of $37.59 and a one year high of $47.36. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $43.36 and its 200-day simple moving average is $42.23. The stock has a market capitalization of $175.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.91, a PEG ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.38.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.19 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.15 by $0.04. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.66% and a net margin of 13.14%. The company had revenue of $33.50 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $33.31 billion. Equities analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 10th will be given a $0.6775 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 10th. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.51%. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is currently 64.52%.

Insider Transactions at Verizon Communications

In other Verizon Communications news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 9,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.10, for a total value of $396,900.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 10,008 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $441,352.80. This trade represents a 47.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In the last three months, insiders have sold 21,500 shares of company stock worth $938,400. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Wolfe Research downgraded shares of Verizon Communications from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Tigress Financial upped their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $55.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Verizon Communications from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $45.00 target price (up previously from $42.00) on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Tuesday, March 25th. Finally, Scotiabank upped their price target on Verizon Communications from $48.50 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $47.41.

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).