Community Bank N.A. Sells 14,198 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Community Bank N.A. decreased its position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 6.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 206,826 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 14,198 shares during the quarter. Verizon Communications makes up 1.0% of Community Bank N.A.’s portfolio, making the stock its 20th biggest holding. Community Bank N.A.’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $7,797,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Ziegler Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 5.0% in the third quarter. Ziegler Capital Management LLC now owns 67,895 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $2,200,000 after buying an additional 3,241 shares during the period. 1900 Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the third quarter worth about $201,000. BTC Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 7.8% in the third quarter. BTC Capital Management Inc. now owns 44,695 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,449,000 after buying an additional 3,242 shares during the period. Argus Investors Counsel Inc. raised its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 6.5% in the third quarter. Argus Investors Counsel Inc. now owns 37,785 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,225,000 after buying an additional 2,320 shares during the period. Finally, CreativeOne Wealth LLC raised its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 40.9% in the third quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC now owns 76,215 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $2,470,000 after buying an additional 22,126 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of Verizon Communications stock traded down $0.21 on Wednesday, reaching $39.49. The company had a trading volume of 15,942,031 shares, compared to its average volume of 20,223,914. The firm has a market cap of $166.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.74, a P/E/G ratio of 3.14 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a current ratio of 0.71 and a quick ratio of 0.65. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $40.51 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $38.45. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1 year low of $30.14 and a 1 year high of $43.42.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last announced its earnings results on Monday, April 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.15 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.12 by $0.03. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 20.41% and a net margin of 8.44%. The firm had revenue of $33 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $33.23 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.20 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up .3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.59 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 Wednesday, May 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.665 per share. This represents a $2.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.74%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 9th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is currently 99.25%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently issued reports on VZ shares. Tigress Financial lifted their target price on Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 25th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on Verizon Communications from $36.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $48.00 target price on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Tuesday. Redburn Atlantic raised Verizon Communications from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $33.00 to $39.00 in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. Finally, KeyCorp raised their price target on Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $44.21.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 24,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.80, for a total transaction of $979,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 35,201 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,436,200.80. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.03% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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).