Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Shares Sold by Vanguard Capital Wealth Advisors

Vanguard Capital Wealth Advisors trimmed its position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 4.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 13,469 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 639 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Capital Wealth Advisors’ holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $508,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA lifted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 627.8% in the 4th quarter. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA now owns 655 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 565 shares during the last quarter. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC increased its stake in Verizon Communications by 130.1% during the 4th quarter. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC now owns 863 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 488 shares during the period. HBC Financial Services PLLC increased its stake in Verizon Communications by 320.0% during the 3rd quarter. HBC Financial Services PLLC now owns 1,050 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 800 shares during the period. Finally, Cetera Trust Company N.A purchased a new stake in Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter worth approximately $37,000. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 24,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.80, for a total value of $979,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 35,201 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,436,200.80. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

VZ stock traded down $0.60 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $39.49. 20,216,529 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 20,158,723. The company has a quick ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52 week low of $30.14 and a 52 week high of $43.42. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $40.45 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $38.67. The stock has a market capitalization of $166.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 0.41.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.12 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $33 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $33.23 billion. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 8.44% and a return on equity of 20.41%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.20 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 10th will be issued a $0.665 dividend. This represents a $2.66 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.74%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 9th. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is currently 99.25%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $36.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. StockNews.com raised shares of Verizon Communications from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $48.00 target price on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Wolfe Research raised shares of Verizon Communications from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $46.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 4th. Finally, Tigress Financial raised their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 25th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $44.21.

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).