Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Stake Decreased by Wedmont Private Capital

Wedmont Private Capital lessened its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ – Get Rating) by 54.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 8,331 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 9,973 shares during the period. Wedmont Private Capital’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $351,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in VZ. HBC Financial Services PLLC acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the second quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Western Pacific Wealth Management LP increased its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 273.5% during the third quarter. Western Pacific Wealth Management LP now owns 1,016 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 744 shares during the period. Hoese & Co LLP increased its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 41.0% during the third quarter. Hoese & Co LLP now owns 1,077 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 313 shares during the period. Heritage Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the second quarter valued at approximately $59,000. Finally, Worth Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the first quarter valued at approximately $58,000. Institutional investors own 60.96% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE:VZ opened at $36.79 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $39.65 and a two-hundred day moving average of $38.97. The firm has a market capitalization of $154.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 0.36. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12-month low of $34.55 and a 12-month high of $55.51. The company has a quick ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.52.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ – Get Rating) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, January 24th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.20 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $35.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $35.14 billion. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 15.53% and a return on equity of 24.60%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.31 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 1st. Investors of record on Monday, April 10th will be paid a $0.6525 dividend. This represents a $2.61 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.09%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 6th. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is presently 51.58%.

Insider Activity at Verizon Communications

In related news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 7,199 shares of Verizon Communications stock in a transaction on Monday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.50, for a total value of $262,763.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 81,738 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,983,437. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VZ has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Tigress Financial lowered their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $68.00 to $64.00 in a research note on Friday, December 16th. Cowen decreased their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $55.00 to $49.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 25th. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Verizon Communications from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $41.00 to $44.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 15th. Moffett Nathanson upgraded shares of Verizon Communications from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and set a $41.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 19th. Finally, Oppenheimer decreased their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $46.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $47.63.

About Verizon Communications

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Verizon Communications, Inc is a holding company, which engages in the provision of communications, information, and entertainment products and services. It operates through the Verizon Consumer Group (Consumer) and Verizon Business Group (Business) segments. The Consumer segment provides consumer-focused wireless and wire line communications services and products.