Bison Wealth LLC Cuts Stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Bison Wealth LLC lessened its stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 42.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 10,186 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after selling 7,418 shares during the quarter. Bison Wealth LLC's holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $407,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter worth about $2,300,846,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter worth about $1,083,337,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in Verizon Communications by 7.3% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 108,694,230 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $4,346,682,000 after purchasing an additional 7,421,148 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors grew its position in Verizon Communications by 52.7% in the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 19,828,378 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $792,937,000 after acquiring an additional 6,846,514 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Amundi increased its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 32.3% during the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 25,227,069 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $983,445,000 after purchasing an additional 6,153,408 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 62.06% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Verizon Communications from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. Scotiabank boosted their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $48.50 to $49.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. DZ Bank upgraded Verizon Communications from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $40.00 price objective for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Argus raised Verizon Communications to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, TD Cowen upgraded shares of Verizon Communications to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $47.41.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:VZ traded up $0.44 during trading on Friday, hitting $43.74. The company's stock had a trading volume of 15,365,211 shares, compared to its average volume of 20,184,283. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 0.63 and a quick ratio of 0.59. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12 month low of $37.59 and a 12 month high of $47.36. The firm has a market cap of $184.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.57, a P/E/G ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a 50-day moving average of $43.68 and a 200-day moving average of $41.96.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.19 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.15 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $33.50 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $33.31 billion. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.80% and a net margin of 12.99%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, April 10th were given a $0.6775 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.20%. Verizon Communications's dividend payout ratio is currently 64.52%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Verizon Communications

In other Verizon Communications news, EVP Vandana Venkatesh sold 10,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.79, for a total value of $437,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,459 shares of the company's stock, valued at $633,159.61. The trade was a 40.88 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Kyle Malady sold 5,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.48, for a total value of $212,400.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 36,508 shares in the company, valued at $1,550,859.84. The trade was a 12.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 30,500 shares of company stock worth $1,298,440 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.10% of the company's stock.

Verizon Communications Company 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).