Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Shares Sold by Avanza Fonder AB

Avanza Fonder AB decreased its position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 12.6% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 283,197 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after selling 40,932 shares during the quarter. Avanza Fonder AB's holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $12,670,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Mainstream Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Mattson Financial Services LLC grew its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 114.6% in the fourth quarter. Mattson Financial Services LLC now owns 777 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 415 shares in the last quarter. Capital A Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Graney & King LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Banque Transatlantique SA purchased a new position in Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter valued at $35,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.06% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on VZ shares. Royal Bank of Canada restated a "sector perform" rating and set a $45.00 price target (up previously from $42.00) on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. Oppenheimer upped their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Verizon Communications from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. Evercore ISI raised shares of Verizon Communications from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $48.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Wolfe Research lowered shares of Verizon Communications from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $47.41.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

NYSE VZ traded up $0.47 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $44.12. The company had a trading volume of 13,703,838 shares, compared to its average volume of 20,017,095. The business has a 50 day moving average of $43.42 and a 200-day moving average of $42.28. The company has a market cap of $186.02 billion, a PE ratio of 10.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.45 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. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a current ratio of 0.63.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.15 by $0.04. The firm 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%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 10th will be paid a $0.6775 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 10th. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.14%. Verizon Communications's dividend payout ratio is presently 64.52%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 5,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Over the last three months, insiders sold 21,500 shares of company stock valued at $938,400. 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).