Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Shares Sold by Axxcess Wealth Management LLC

Axxcess Wealth Management LLC trimmed its position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 7.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 141,435 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after selling 11,137 shares during the quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC's holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $6,415,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in VZ. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter worth about $2,300,846,000. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. grew its position in Verizon Communications by 3,601.6% in the fourth quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. now owns 8,937,180 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $357,398,000 after acquiring an additional 8,695,736 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. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Verizon Communications by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 363,824,525 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $14,549,343,000 after acquiring an additional 5,697,337 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its position in Verizon Communications by 12.4% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 45,043,310 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $1,801,282,000 after acquiring an additional 4,951,733 shares in the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently commented on VZ shares. Evercore ISI upgraded Verizon Communications from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $48.00 price target for the company in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated a "sector perform" rating and issued a $45.00 price target (up previously from $42.00) on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Tuesday, March 25th. Bank of America assumed coverage on Verizon Communications in a research report on Monday. They set a "neutral" rating and a $45.00 target price for the company. Scotiabank boosted their target price on Verizon Communications from $48.50 to $49.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on Verizon Communications in a research report on Thursday. They set an "equal weight" rating and a $47.00 target price for the company. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $47.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 9,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.10, for a total value of $396,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 10,008 shares of the company's stock, valued at $441,352.80. The trade was a 47.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders have sold a total of 21,500 shares of company stock valued at $938,400 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.10% of the company's stock.

Verizon Communications Trading Up 0.2%

Shares of NYSE VZ traded up $0.08 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $42.01. The stock had a trading volume of 9,224,651 shares, compared to its average volume of 22,126,000. 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 market cap of $177.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.00, a P/E/G ratio of 3.45 and a beta of 0.37. The business's fifty day moving average price is $43.21 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $42.33. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52-week low of $37.58 and a 52-week high of $47.35.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.19 EPS 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 the consensus estimate of $33.31 billion. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 13.14% and a return on equity of 19.66%. Analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, July 10th will be paid a $0.6775 dividend. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.45%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 10th. Verizon Communications's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 64.52%.

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).