Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA Sells 68,112 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA cut its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 9.4% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 656,183 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after selling 68,112 shares during the quarter. Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA's holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $29,764,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VZ. Mainstream Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Mattson Financial Services LLC raised its position in Verizon Communications by 114.6% in the fourth 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. Graney & King LLC purchased a new position in Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. Capital A Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, Banque Transatlantique SA purchased a new position in Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter valued at about $35,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.06% of the company's stock.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE VZ traded down $0.61 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $43.13. 22,343,482 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 20,075,644. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52 week low of $37.59 and a 52 week high of $47.36. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $43.40 and a 200 day moving average price of $42.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 0.63 and a quick ratio of 0.59. The company has a market cap of $181.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.42, a PEG ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.38.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.19 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.15 by $0.04. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 12.99% and a return on equity of 19.80%. The business had revenue of $33.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $33.31 billion. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 10th will be paid a $0.6775 dividend. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.28%. 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 research firms have commented on VZ. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a "sector perform" rating and issued a $45.00 price objective (up from $42.00) on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Tuesday, March 25th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Verizon Communications from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. Wolfe Research cut shares of Verizon Communications from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. Scotiabank upped their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $48.50 to $49.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Evercore ISI raised 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 report on Friday, April 11th. Nine research 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 company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $47.41.

Insider Transactions at Verizon Communications

In other Verizon Communications news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 9,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.10, for a total transaction of $396,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 10,008 shares in the company, valued at $441,352.80. This represents a 47.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 21,500 shares of company stock valued at $938,400. 0.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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).