Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Shares Sold by Blair William & Co. IL

Key Points

• Blair William & Co. IL reduced its stock holdings in Verizon Communications by 4.0%, now owning 620,324 shares valued at approximately $28.14 million.
• CEO Kyle Malady sold 9,000 shares of Verizon stock, a 47.35% decrease in his position, bringing his total ownership to 10,008 shares valued at about $441,352.
• Verizon reported earnings of $1.22 per share, exceeding estimates, with a revenue of $34.5 billion, marking a 5.2% increase year-over-year.

Blair William & Co. IL cut its stake in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 4.0% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 620,324 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after selling 25,839 shares during the quarter. Blair William & Co. IL's holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $28,138,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. increased its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 81.0% in the first quarter. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. now owns 543 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 243 shares during the period. Cherry Tree Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Verizon Communications by 71.8% during the 1st 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 during the period. Garde Capital Inc. purchased a new position in Verizon Communications during the 1st quarter valued at $26,000. Mattson Financial Services LLC increased its position in Verizon Communications by 114.6% during the 4th quarter. Mattson Financial Services LLC now owns 777 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 415 shares during the period. Finally, Capital A Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Verizon Communications

In other Verizon Communications news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 9,000 shares of Verizon Communications stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.10, for a total value of $396,900.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 10,008 shares in the company, valued at $441,352.80. The trade was a 47.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.10% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Tigress Financial raised their price objective on Verizon Communications from $55.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Verizon Communications from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $48.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $47.35.

Verizon Communications Trading Down 0.4%

VZ traded down $0.19 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $42.77. The company had a trading volume of 2,822,573 shares, compared to its average volume of 21,850,936. The stock has a market cap of $180.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.98, a PEG ratio of 3.31 and a beta of 0.36. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $42.74 and a 200-day simple moving average of $42.75. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52 week low of $37.58 and a 52 week high of $47.35. The company has a quick ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Monday, July 21st. The cell phone carrier reported $1.22 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.19 by $0.03. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.61% and a net margin of 13.28%. The business had revenue of $34.50 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $33.47 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.15 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 10th were paid a dividend of $0.6775 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 10th. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.3%. Verizon Communications's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 63.17%.

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).