Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Shares Sold by Valmark Advisers Inc.

Valmark Advisers Inc. decreased its position in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 5.9% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 30,433 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 1,898 shares during the period. Valmark Advisers Inc.’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $1,147,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in VZ. Portland Investment Counsel Inc. grew its stake in Verizon Communications by 173.7% in the 3rd quarter. Portland Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 652,169 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $21,137,000 after acquiring an additional 413,869 shares during the period. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC grew its stake in Verizon Communications by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 127,632 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $5,131,000 after acquiring an additional 1,616 shares during the period. 180 Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in Verizon Communications by 6.2% in the 3rd quarter. 180 Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 51,757 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $1,677,000 after acquiring an additional 3,020 shares during the period. GFS Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter valued at $212,000. Finally, Fidelity D & D Bancorp Inc. acquired a new stake in Verizon Communications in the 3rd quarter valued at $306,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Trading Up 1.2 %

NYSE VZ traded up $0.46 during trading on Friday, hitting $39.68. The stock had a trading volume of 18,246,244 shares, compared to its average volume of 18,678,804. Verizon Communications Inc. has a twelve month low of $30.14 and a twelve month high of $43.42. The company has a market capitalization of $166.83 billion, a PE ratio of 14.81, a PEG ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a quick ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $40.46 and a 200 day moving average price of $38.56.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.15 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.12 by $0.03. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 20.41% and a net margin of 8.44%. The business had revenue of $33 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $33.23 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.20 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.6 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 10th will be issued a $0.665 dividend. This represents a $2.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.70%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 9th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 99.25%.

Insider Activity at Verizon Communications

In related news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 15,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.33, for a total value of $604,950.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 59,201 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,387,576.33. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.02% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on VZ shares. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $37.00 to $43.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $48.00 price target on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Tuesday, April 23rd. KeyCorp lifted their price target on Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. Redburn Atlantic upgraded Verizon Communications from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $33.00 to $39.00 in a report on Friday, March 22nd. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Verizon Communications from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $44.21.

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).