Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Shares Sold by Optivise Advisory Services LLC

Optivise Advisory Services LLC cut its stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 33.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 5,235 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 2,616 shares during the period. Optivise Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $237,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. increased 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 valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 243 shares during the period. Mainstream Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Mattson Financial Services LLC increased its holdings 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 valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 415 shares during the period. Graney & King LLC acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Capital A Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. 62.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.48, for a total transaction of $212,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 36,508 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,550,859.84. This trade represents a 12.05% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 21,500 shares of company stock worth $938,400. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Verizon Communications Trading Down 1.5%

NYSE:VZ opened at $41.85 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 0.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1-year low of $37.59 and a 1-year high of $47.36. The firm has a market capitalization of $176.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.15 and a beta of 0.38. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $43.42 and a 200 day simple moving average of $42.25.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.19 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 analyst estimates of $33.31 billion. Sell-side analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 10th will be given a dividend of $0.6775 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 10th. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.48%. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is presently 64.52%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. Scotiabank raised their price target on Verizon Communications from $48.50 to $49.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Wolfe Research lowered Verizon Communications from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. Tigress Financial lifted their target price on Verizon Communications from $55.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 28th. 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. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Verizon Communications from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 13th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $47.41.

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).