Oliver Lagore Vanvalin Investment Group Cuts Holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Oliver Lagore Vanvalin Investment Group cut its holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 11.4% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 5,509 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 708 shares during the quarter. Oliver Lagore Vanvalin Investment Group’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $214,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Cascade Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the 1st quarter worth approximately $32,000. Kepos Capital LP acquired a new stake in Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter valued at $36,000. Steward Financial Group LLC increased its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 92.9% in the first quarter. Steward Financial Group LLC now owns 957 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 461 shares in the last quarter. True Wealth Design LLC acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter worth $42,000. Finally, Paladin Advisory Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 35.4% in the 1st quarter. Paladin Advisory Group LLC now owns 1,177 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $46,000 after buying an additional 308 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 61.06% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Verizon Communications

In other Verizon Communications news, EVP Samantha Hammock sold 12,557 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.29, for a total transaction of $418,022.53. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.02% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

Verizon Communications stock opened at $33.86 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.43, a current ratio of 0.73 and a quick ratio of 0.69. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12 month low of $31.25 and a 12 month high of $42.58. The company has a market cap of $142.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.04 and a beta of 0.36. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $33.88 and its 200-day moving average is $36.04.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 25th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.21 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.17 by $0.04. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 15.58% and a return on equity of 22.28%. The firm had revenue of $32.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.30 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.31 earnings per share. Verizon Communications’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.73 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 10th will be given a dividend of $0.665 per share. This represents a $2.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.86%. This is a boost from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.65. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 6th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is 53.20%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VZ has been the subject of several recent research reports. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and set a $44.00 target price on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Thursday, August 3rd. Edward Jones cut shares of Verizon Communications from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, July 17th. StockNews.com lowered Verizon Communications from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 5th. Citigroup raised Verizon Communications from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $39.00 to $40.00 in a research report on Tuesday, August 29th. Finally, Raymond James reduced their price objective on Verizon Communications from $51.00 to $42.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 26th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $43.40.

About Verizon Communications

Verizon Communications Inc, through its subsidiaries, provides 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).