SVB Wealth LLC Has $3.58 Million Holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

SVB Wealth LLC cut its position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 0.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 94,905 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 760 shares during the period. SVB Wealth LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $3,578,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VZ. BCK Partners Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the first quarter worth approximately $2,101,000. Axiom Financial Strategies LLC lifted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 8.9% during the first quarter. Axiom Financial Strategies LLC now owns 5,980 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $279,000 after purchasing an additional 487 shares in the last quarter. Ergoteles LLC lifted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 174.0% during the first quarter. Ergoteles LLC now owns 91,776 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $4,675,000 after purchasing an additional 58,283 shares in the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp lifted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 10.5% during the first quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 1,194,111 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $60,828,000 after purchasing an additional 113,032 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Western Trust Bank acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the first quarter worth approximately $567,000. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VZ has been the topic of a number of research reports. 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 report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 26th. Redburn Atlantic upgraded shares of Verizon Communications from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $33.00 to $39.00 in a report on Friday, March 22nd. StockNews.com lowered shares of Verizon Communications from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. Finally, Tigress Financial increased their price objective 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. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $44.50.

Insider Transactions at Verizon Communications

In other news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.33, for a total transaction of $604,950.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 59,201 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,387,576.33. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.03% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:VZ opened at $39.77 on Thursday. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52 week low of $30.14 and a 52 week high of $43.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a current ratio of 0.69. The company has a market capitalization of $167.20 billion, a PE ratio of 14.41, a PEG ratio of 3.27 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $40.54 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $38.17.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, January 23rd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.08 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.08. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 8.67% and a return on equity of 20.71%. The firm had revenue of $35.10 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.60 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.19 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down .6% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 10th will be given a dividend of $0.665 per share. This represents a $2.66 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.69%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 9th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is 96.38%.

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).