Securian Asset Management Inc. Sells 3,254 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Securian Asset Management Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 1.4% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 222,995 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 3,254 shares during the period. Securian Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $10,115,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Crescent Sterling Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 0.8% during the first quarter. Crescent Sterling Ltd. now owns 30,906 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,402,000 after purchasing an additional 235 shares during the period. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. grew its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 81.0% in the 1st quarter. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. now owns 543 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 243 shares during the period. Cherry Tree Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 71.8% during the first quarter. Cherry Tree Wealth Management LLC now owns 584 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 244 shares in the last quarter. NCM Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Verizon Communications by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. NCM Capital Management LLC now owns 18,390 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $735,000 after purchasing an additional 245 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CRA Financial Services LLC increased its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 3.7% during the first quarter. CRA Financial Services LLC now owns 6,913 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $314,000 after acquiring an additional 246 shares in the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently commented on VZ shares. Oppenheimer increased their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on Verizon Communications in a research report on Thursday. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $47.00 price target on the stock. Tigress Financial raised their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $55.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 28th. Bank of America initiated coverage on Verizon Communications in a report on Monday, July 7th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $45.00 target price for the company. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $45.00 price target (up previously from $42.00) on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Verizon Communications currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $47.00.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

Verizon Communications stock opened at $41.63 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $175.52 billion, a PE ratio of 9.91, a P/E/G ratio of 3.34 and a beta of 0.37. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $43.14 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $42.39. The company has a quick ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 0.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19. Verizon Communications Inc. has a twelve month low of $37.59 and a twelve month high of $47.36.

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

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Verizon Communications

In other Verizon Communications news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 9,000 shares of Verizon Communications stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.10, for a total transaction of $396,900.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 10,008 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $441,352.80. The trade was a 47.35% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 21,500 shares of company stock worth $938,400. Insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

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).