GTS Securities LLC Sells 20,414 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

GTS Securities LLC cut its holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 38.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 33,303 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after selling 20,414 shares during the period. GTS Securities LLC's holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $1,332,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Fourth Dimension Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter valued at about $130,000. Vise Technologies Inc. raised its stake in Verizon Communications by 44.2% during the 4th quarter. Vise Technologies Inc. now owns 80,542 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $3,221,000 after acquiring an additional 24,701 shares during the period. Pacific Center for Financial Services raised its stake in Verizon Communications by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. Pacific Center for Financial Services now owns 7,574 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $303,000 after acquiring an additional 297 shares during the period. Inspire Trust Co. N.A. raised its stake in Verizon Communications by 12.5% during the 4th quarter. Inspire Trust Co. N.A. now owns 85,000 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $3,399,000 after acquiring an additional 9,441 shares during the period. Finally, Patrick Mauro Investment Advisor INC. raised its stake in Verizon Communications by 6.8% during the 4th quarter. Patrick Mauro Investment Advisor INC. now owns 227,886 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $9,113,000 after acquiring an additional 14,598 shares during the period. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

Verizon Communications stock opened at $43.38 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $182.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.48, a PEG ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.39. The firm's fifty day moving average is $43.60 and its 200 day moving average is $42.12. The company has a quick ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52-week low of $37.59 and a 52-week high of $47.36.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.19 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.15 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $33.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.31 billion. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.80% and a net margin of 12.99%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, April 10th were issued a dividend of $0.6775 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.25%. Verizon Communications's payout ratio is presently 64.52%.

Insider Activity at Verizon Communications

In other news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 7,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.88, for a total value of $329,100.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 19,008 shares in the company, valued at approximately $834,071.04. This represents a 28.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Vandana Venkatesh sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.79, for a total value of $437,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 14,459 shares in the company, valued at approximately $633,159.61. The trade was a 40.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 31,500 shares of company stock worth $1,376,300. Company insiders own 0.10% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VZ has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Scotiabank upped their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $48.50 to $49.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Oppenheimer upped their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Wolfe Research cut Verizon Communications from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. Argus raised shares of Verizon Communications to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Tigress Financial increased their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $55.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, April 28th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $47.41.

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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