Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Stock Position Trimmed by B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc.

B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. trimmed its position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 17.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 164,545 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after selling 34,182 shares during the quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc.'s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $6,580,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. NCM Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. NCM Capital Management LLC now owns 18,390 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $735,000 after buying an additional 245 shares in the last quarter. Kirtland Hills Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Kirtland Hills Capital Management LLC now owns 10,968 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $439,000 after buying an additional 252 shares during the last quarter. JB Capital LLC raised its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. JB Capital LLC now owns 20,816 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $832,000 after buying an additional 258 shares during the last quarter. Curbstone Financial Management Corp raised its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Curbstone Financial Management Corp now owns 34,786 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $1,391,000 after buying an additional 262 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC raised its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 9.9% in the fourth quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 2,915 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $117,000 after buying an additional 263 shares during the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Verizon Communications Stock Up 0.0%

Shares of VZ stock traded up $0.02 on Thursday, hitting $43.15. The stock had a trading volume of 4,835,923 shares, compared to its average volume of 20,118,292. The firm has a market capitalization of $181.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.42, a P/E/G ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.39. The stock's 50 day moving average is $43.57 and its 200-day moving average is $42.17. 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 Inc. has a 52-week low of $37.59 and a 52-week high of $47.36.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.19 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.15 by $0.04. The business 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 12.99% and a return on equity of 19.80%. As a group, research 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 10th were paid a dividend of $0.6775 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.28%. Verizon Communications's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 64.52%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Verizon Communications

In other news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 7,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.88, for a total value of $329,100.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 19,008 shares in the company, valued at approximately $834,071.04. This trade represents a 28.29% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders have sold 21,500 shares of company stock worth $938,400 in the last ninety days. 0.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on VZ shares. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a "sector perform" rating and issued a $45.00 price objective (up previously from $42.00) on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Tuesday, March 25th. Scotiabank boosted their price objective 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. Oppenheimer upped their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. Tigress Financial upped their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $55.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Verizon Communications from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. Nine investment 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $47.41.

About Verizon Communications

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).