Bay Colony Advisory Group Inc d b a Bay Colony Advisors Sells 19,513 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Bay Colony Advisory Group Inc d b a Bay Colony Advisors lessened its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 49.6% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 19,853 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after selling 19,513 shares during the period. Bay Colony Advisory Group Inc d b a Bay Colony Advisors' holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $892,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Brighton Jones LLC increased its stake in Verizon Communications by 61.2% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 43,986 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $1,759,000 after buying an additional 16,704 shares during the last quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC bought a new stake in Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter worth $501,000. Atlas Legacy Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter valued at $206,000. Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 9.7% in the 4th quarter. Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC now owns 145,570 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $5,821,000 after acquiring an additional 12,916 shares during the period. Finally, Financial Sense Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter worth about $234,000. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:VZ opened at $41.61 on Friday. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12-month low of $37.59 and a 12-month high of $47.36. The company's 50 day moving average price is $43.36 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $42.23. The firm has a market cap of $175.46 billion, a PE ratio of 9.91, a PEG ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a quick ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 0.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last issued 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. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.66% and a net margin of 13.14%. The business had revenue of $33.50 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $33.31 billion. Equities research analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared 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. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.51%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 10th. Verizon Communications's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 64.52%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on VZ shares. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated a "sector perform" rating and issued a $45.00 target price (up from $42.00) on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Tuesday, March 25th. Oppenheimer raised their price objective on Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. Tigress Financial boosted their target price on Verizon Communications from $55.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, April 28th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Verizon Communications from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, March 13th. Finally, Evercore ISI upgraded 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 report on Friday, April 11th. 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $47.41.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 7,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.88, for a total transaction of $329,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 19,008 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $834,071.04. The trade was a 28.29% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 21,500 shares of company stock worth $938,400. Corporate insiders own 0.10% of the company's stock.

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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