Kyle Malady Sells 9,000 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Stock

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) CEO Kyle Malady sold 9,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 7th. The shares were 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 now owns 10,008 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $441,352.80. This represents a 47.35 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link.

Kyle Malady also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Wednesday, April 30th, Kyle Malady sold 7,500 shares of Verizon Communications stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.88, for a total value of $329,100.00.
• On Wednesday, April 23rd, Kyle Malady sold 5,000 shares of Verizon Communications stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.48, for a total value of $212,400.00.

Verizon Communications Stock Up 0.1 %

Verizon Communications stock opened at $43.65 on Friday. Verizon Communications Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $37.59 and a fifty-two week high of $47.36. The firm has a market capitalization of $184.04 billion, a PE ratio of 10.54, a P/E/G ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.39. The company’s 50-day moving average is $43.74 and its 200-day moving average is $41.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 0.63 and a quick ratio of 0.59.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.15 by $0.04. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.80% and a net margin of 12.99%. The firm had revenue of $33.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.31 billion. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 10th were given a $0.6775 dividend. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.21%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 10th. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is presently 64.52%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have commented on VZ shares. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Verizon Communications from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 13th. DZ Bank upgraded shares of Verizon Communications from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $40.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. TD Cowen raised shares of Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Argus raised Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $45.00 price objective (up from $42.00) on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Tuesday, March 25th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $47.41.

Institutional Trading of Verizon Communications

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. lifted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 81.0% during the first quarter. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. now owns 543 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 243 shares in the last quarter. Cherry Tree Wealth Management LLC raised its stake 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 worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 244 shares in the last quarter. Garde Capital Inc. bought a new stake in Verizon Communications in the 1st quarter valued at about $26,000. Mainstream Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, Accent Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Verizon Communications during the 1st quarter worth $30,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

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).