First Bank & Trust Sells 1,766 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

First Bank & Trust decreased its position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZFree Report) by 1.6% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 107,066 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 1,766 shares during the quarter. Verizon Communications accounts for approximately 0.9% of First Bank & Trust’s holdings, making the stock its 18th largest holding. First Bank & Trust’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $4,857,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Brighton Jones LLC increased its holdings in Verizon Communications by 61.2% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 43,986 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,759,000 after buying an additional 16,704 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 11.2% in the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 74,370 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $2,974,000 after purchasing an additional 7,502 shares during the period. Modera Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 7.9% during the 4th quarter. Modera Wealth Management LLC now owns 22,355 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $894,000 after purchasing an additional 1,636 shares during the last quarter. Mission Wealth Management LP boosted its stake in Verizon Communications by 24.0% in the 4th quarter. Mission Wealth Management LP now owns 56,543 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $2,261,000 after purchasing an additional 10,959 shares during the period. Finally, Meridian Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Verizon Communications by 4.4% in the 4th quarter. Meridian Wealth Management LLC now owns 45,124 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $1,803,000 after buying an additional 1,907 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VZ has been the topic of several recent research reports. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $45.00 target price (up from $42.00) on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Verizon Communications from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. Scotiabank increased their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $48.50 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Oppenheimer upped their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Finally, Wolfe Research cut shares of Verizon Communications from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $47.25.

Check Out Our Latest Analysis on VZ

Verizon Communications Price Performance

VZ stock opened at $43.66 on Wednesday. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12 month low of $37.59 and a 12 month high of $47.36. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $43.16 and a 200-day moving average of $42.23. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $184.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.21 and a beta of 0.38.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZGet Free Report) last announced 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 firm had revenue of $33.50 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $33.31 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts predict 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. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 10th will be given a $0.6775 dividend. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.21%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 10th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 64.52%.

Insider Transactions at Verizon Communications

In other news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 9,000 shares of Verizon Communications stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 7th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at $441,352.80. The trade was a 47.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 21,500 shares of company stock worth $938,400. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

About Verizon Communications

(Free Report)

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).

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Institutional Ownership by Quarter for Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ)

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