Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Shares Sold by Stratos Wealth Partners LTD.

Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. trimmed its holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 0.9% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 318,492 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 2,889 shares during the quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD.’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $14,447,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. boosted its holdings in 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 last quarter. Cherry Tree Wealth Management LLC grew its position in 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 acquiring an additional 244 shares in the last quarter. Garde Capital Inc. purchased a new stake in Verizon Communications during the 1st quarter worth approximately $26,000. Mattson Financial Services LLC increased its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 114.6% during the fourth quarter. Mattson Financial Services LLC now owns 777 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 415 shares during the period. Finally, Graney & King LLC acquired a new position in Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter worth $32,000. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Verizon Communications Stock Down 1.7%

NYSE:VZ opened at $42.80 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $180.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.19, a PEG ratio of 3.23 and a beta of 0.37. 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 business’s fifty day moving average price is $43.24 and its 200 day moving average price is $42.33.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last issued 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 company had revenue of $33.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.31 billion. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.66% and a net margin of 13.14%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, July 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.6775 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 10th. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.33%. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is 64.52%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently commented on the company. Evercore ISI raised Verizon Communications from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $48.00 target price for the company in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Oppenheimer upped their target price on Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. Tigress Financial upped their target price on Verizon Communications from $55.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Scotiabank upped their price objective on Verizon Communications from $48.50 to $49.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Verizon Communications from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $47.25.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related 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 transaction of $396,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 10,008 shares in the company, valued at $441,352.80. This represents a 47.35% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 21,500 shares of company stock worth $938,400. 0.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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).