B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. Sells 34,182 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 17.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor 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 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Mainstream Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Graney & King LLC purchased a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Compass Financial Services Inc purchased a new position in Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter valued at about $33,000. Banque Transatlantique SA purchased a new position in Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, Hager Investment Management Services LLC purchased a new position in Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter valued at about $38,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.06% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 5,000 shares of Verizon Communications stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.48, for a total transaction of $212,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 36,508 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,550,859.84. This trade represents a 12.05% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders sold a total of 21,500 shares of company stock worth $938,400 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.10% of the company's stock.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

Shares of VZ stock traded down $0.33 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $43.17. The stock had a trading volume of 12,764,509 shares, compared to its average volume of 20,158,024. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $43.59 and its 200 day simple moving average is $42.16. The company has a quick ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. Verizon Communications Inc. has a one year low of $37.59 and a one year high of $47.36. The firm has a market cap of $182.02 billion, a PE ratio of 10.43, a P/E/G ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.39.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.19 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.15 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $33.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $33.31 billion. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.80% and a net margin of 12.99%. On average, analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared 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. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.28%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 10th. Verizon Communications's dividend payout ratio is 64.52%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have commented on VZ. DZ Bank upgraded Verizon Communications from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $40.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. Scotiabank boosted their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $48.50 to $49.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Verizon Communications from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued a "sector perform" rating and issued a $45.00 target price (up from $42.00) on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Tuesday, March 25th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Verizon Communications presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus 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).