Adams Asset Advisors LLC Sells 59,854 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Adams Asset Advisors LLC cut its holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 18.9% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 257,230 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after selling 59,854 shares during the period. Verizon Communications comprises approximately 1.6% of Adams Asset Advisors LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 17th biggest holding. Adams Asset Advisors LLC's holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $11,668,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Boston Trust Walden Corp lifted its stake in Verizon Communications by 13.7% in the first quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 308,894 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $14,011,000 after purchasing an additional 37,150 shares during the last quarter. Premier Path Wealth Partners LLC lifted its stake in Verizon Communications by 2.1% in the first quarter. Premier Path Wealth Partners LLC now owns 46,270 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $2,099,000 after purchasing an additional 971 shares during the last quarter. Heartwood Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Verizon Communications by 15.1% in the first quarter. Heartwood Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 26,478 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $1,201,000 after purchasing an additional 3,478 shares during the last quarter. Centennial Wealth Advisory LLC lifted its stake in Verizon Communications by 9.9% in the first quarter. Centennial Wealth Advisory LLC now owns 21,924 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $994,000 after purchasing an additional 1,970 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bigelow Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 37.5% during the first quarter. Bigelow Investment Advisors LLC now owns 13,463 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $611,000 after acquiring an additional 3,670 shares in the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

Verizon Communications stock opened at $41.61 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $43.39 and a 200-day moving average of $42.24. The firm has a market cap of $175.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.91, a P/E/G ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.38. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1-year low of $37.59 and a 1-year high of $47.36.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.19 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.15 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $33.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.31 billion. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 13.14% and a return on equity of 19.66%. Sell-side analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.6775 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 10th. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.51%. Verizon Communications's dividend payout ratio is currently 64.52%.

Insider Transactions at Verizon Communications

In other news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 9,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.10, for a total transaction of $396,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 10,008 shares in the company, valued at approximately $441,352.80. This represents a 47.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 21,500 shares of company stock worth $938,400. Company insiders own 0.10% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on VZ shares. Oppenheimer increased their target price on Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. Wolfe Research cut Verizon Communications from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued a "sector perform" rating and issued a $45.00 target price (up previously from $42.00) on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Tuesday, March 25th. Wall Street Zen cut Verizon Communications from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. Finally, Scotiabank increased their target price on Verizon Communications from $48.50 to $49.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Verizon Communications has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $47.41.

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).

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