Bessemer Group Inc. Sells 230,384 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Bessemer Group Inc. lowered its stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 6.2% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,461,700 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after selling 230,384 shares during the quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. owned about 0.08% of Verizon Communications worth $157,022,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in VZ. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. raised its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 81.0% in the 1st quarter. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. now owns 543 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 243 shares during the period. Cherry Tree Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Verizon Communications by 71.8% in the first quarter. Cherry Tree Wealth Management LLC now owns 584 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 244 shares in the last quarter. Garde Capital Inc. acquired a new stake in Verizon Communications in the first quarter worth $26,000. Mainstream Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Finally, Mattson Financial Services LLC grew its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 114.6% in the 4th quarter. Mattson Financial Services LLC now owns 777 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 415 shares during the period. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Verizon Communications Stock Up 0.7%

Verizon Communications stock opened at $42.66 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1-year low of $37.59 and a 1-year high of $47.36. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $43.25 and a 200 day simple moving average of $42.21. The company has a market cap of $179.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.14 and a beta of 0.38.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last posted 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%. Research analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 10th will be given a dividend of $0.6775 per share. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.35%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 10th. Verizon Communications's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 64.52%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently commented on VZ. Wolfe Research downgraded Verizon Communications from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated a "sector perform" rating and issued a $45.00 price target (up from $42.00) on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Evercore ISI upgraded Verizon Communications from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $48.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Scotiabank increased their target price on Verizon Communications from $48.50 to $49.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Verizon Communications presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $47.41.

Insider Transactions at Verizon Communications

In other 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 value of $212,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now 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 legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders have sold a total of 21,500 shares of company stock worth $938,400 in the last 90 days. Corporate 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).

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