Cantor Fitzgerald Investment Advisors L.P. Sells 38,985 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Cantor Fitzgerald Investment Advisors L.P. lessened its holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 11.6% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 296,907 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after selling 38,985 shares during the quarter. Cantor Fitzgerald Investment Advisors L.P.'s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $13,468,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of VZ. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. increased its stake in Verizon Communications by 81.0% in the 1st 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 raised its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 71.8% during the first quarter. Cherry Tree Wealth Management LLC now owns 584 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 244 shares in the last quarter. Mainstream Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Mattson Financial Services LLC grew its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 114.6% during the 4th quarter. Mattson Financial Services LLC now owns 777 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 415 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Graney & King LLC purchased a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.06% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Verizon Communications

In other news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 5,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.48, for a total transaction of $212,400.00. Following the sale, 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 21,500 shares of company stock worth $938,400. 0.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently weighed in on VZ shares. Scotiabank upped their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $48.50 to $49.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Wolfe Research downgraded shares of Verizon Communications from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on shares of 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 target price for the company in a report on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Tigress Financial boosted their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $55.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $47.41.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:VZ opened at $41.61 on Friday. Verizon Communications Inc. has a twelve month low of $37.59 and a twelve month high of $47.36. The company has a current ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19. The company has a market cap of $175.46 billion, a PE ratio of 9.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.38. The company's 50 day moving average is $43.36 and its 200 day moving average is $42.23.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.19 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.15 by $0.04. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 13.14% and a return on equity of 19.66%. The firm had revenue of $33.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.31 billion. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 10th will be issued a $0.6775 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 10th. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.51%. Verizon Communications's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 64.52%.

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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