Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC Sells 696,890 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 16.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 3,637,640 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after selling 696,890 shares during the period. Verizon Communications accounts for about 0.5% of Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC's holdings, making the stock its 29th largest holding. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC owned about 0.09% of Verizon Communications worth $165,003,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of VZ. Crescent Sterling Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 0.8% during the first quarter. Crescent Sterling Ltd. now owns 30,906 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $1,402,000 after purchasing an additional 235 shares in the last quarter. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. grew its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 81.0% during the first quarter. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. now owns 543 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 243 shares in the last quarter. Cherry Tree Wealth Management LLC grew 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 worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 244 shares in the last quarter. NCM Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. NCM Capital Management LLC now owns 18,390 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $735,000 after purchasing an additional 245 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CRA Financial Services LLC grew its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 3.7% during the first quarter. CRA Financial Services LLC now owns 6,913 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $314,000 after purchasing an additional 246 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 62.06% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Verizon Communications

In other Verizon Communications news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 5,000 shares of the 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 directly owns 36,508 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,550,859.84. This trade represents a 12.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Over the last three months, insiders sold 21,500 shares of company stock valued at $938,400. Corporate insiders own 0.10% of the company's stock.

Verizon Communications Trading Up 1.6%

NYSE VZ opened at $42.35 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $178.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.08, a P/E/G ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.38. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52-week low of $37.59 and a 52-week high of $47.36. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $43.28 and a 200 day moving average price of $42.21. 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 posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.19 earnings per share (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 net margin of 13.14% and a return on equity of 19.66%. Equities research analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 1st. Shareholders 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.40%. Verizon Communications's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 64.52%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VZ has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Verizon Communications from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. 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 note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Verizon Communications from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $48.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated a "sector perform" rating and issued a $45.00 price objective (up previously from $42.00) on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Tuesday, March 25th. Finally, Oppenheimer upped their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average 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).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.