Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Shares Sold by Sage Rhino Capital LLC

Sage Rhino Capital LLC trimmed its holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 6.2% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,512 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 362 shares during the quarter. Sage Rhino Capital LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $250,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. increased its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 243 shares during the period. Garde Capital Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the 1st quarter valued at about $26,000. Cherry Tree Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 71.8% in the 1st quarter. Cherry Tree Wealth Management LLC now owns 584 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 244 shares during the period. EQ Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the 1st quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, Mattson Financial Services LLC increased its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 114.6% in the 4th quarter. Mattson Financial Services LLC now owns 777 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 415 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Verizon Communications

In other news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 9,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.10, for a total value of $396,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 10,008 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $441,352.80. This represents a 47.35% 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 this hyperlink. Insiders sold 21,500 shares of company stock valued at $938,400 over the last three months. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Verizon Communications Stock Down 1.4%

VZ opened at $42.00 on Friday. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1-year low of $37.59 and a 1-year high of $47.36. The company has a current ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19. The stock has a market capitalization of $177.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.00, a P/E/G ratio of 3.42 and a beta of 0.37. The business has a 50 day moving average of $43.18 and a 200-day moving average of $42.35.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.19 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $33.31 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed 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 is Thursday, July 10th. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.45%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is 64.52%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VZ has been the topic of a number of research reports. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on Verizon Communications in a report on Thursday. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $47.00 target price on the stock. Oppenheimer upped their target price on Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday. Royal Bank Of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $45.00 price objective (up previously from $42.00) on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. Finally, Bank of America initiated coverage on Verizon Communications in a report on Monday. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $45.00 price objective on the stock. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $47.00.

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).