Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Shares Sold by NBW Capital LLC

NBW Capital LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 11.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,799 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 725 shares during the period. NBW Capital LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $219,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. BCK Partners Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the 1st quarter worth $2,101,000. Axiom Financial Strategies LLC lifted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 8.9% during the 1st quarter. Axiom Financial Strategies LLC now owns 5,980 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $279,000 after acquiring an additional 487 shares during the period. Ergoteles LLC boosted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 174.0% during the 1st quarter. Ergoteles LLC now owns 91,776 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $4,675,000 after acquiring an additional 58,283 shares in the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp grew its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 10.5% in the 1st quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 1,194,111 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $60,828,000 after acquiring an additional 113,032 shares during the period. Finally, First Western Trust Bank purchased a new position in Verizon Communications in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $567,000. 62.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Verizon Communications Stock Up 0.9 %

VZ stock opened at $40.12 on Friday. Verizon Communications Inc. has a twelve month low of $30.14 and a twelve month high of $43.42. The company has a current ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47. The company has a market capitalization of $168.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.54, a PEG ratio of 3.25 and a beta of 0.41. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $40.54 and a 200-day simple moving average of $38.18.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 23rd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.08 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.08. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 8.67% and a return on equity of 20.71%. The business had revenue of $35.10 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.60 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.19 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down .6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.665 per share. This represents a $2.66 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.63%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 9th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 96.38%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on VZ shares. Barclays boosted their price objective 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. StockNews.com downgraded Verizon Communications from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. Tigress Financial increased their price objective on Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 25th. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $37.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. Finally, Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $48.00 price objective on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $44.50.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Verizon Communications news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 24,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.80, for a total value of $979,200.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 35,201 shares in the company, valued at $1,436,200.80. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.02% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Verizon Communications 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).