Ibex Wealth Advisors Cuts Stock Holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Ibex Wealth Advisors lowered its stake in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 2.8% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 232,150 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after selling 6,608 shares during the quarter. Verizon Communications comprises 1.4% of Ibex Wealth Advisors' portfolio, making the stock its 22nd largest position. Ibex Wealth Advisors' holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $10,530,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of VZ. Mainstream Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Mattson Financial Services LLC grew its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 114.6% in the fourth quarter. Mattson Financial Services LLC now owns 777 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 415 shares during the last quarter. Graney & King LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Capital A Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Banque Transatlantique SA bought a new position in Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter worth about $35,000. 62.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:VZ traded up $0.47 on Tuesday, reaching $44.12. The company's stock had a trading volume of 13,703,838 shares, compared to its average volume of 20,017,095. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $43.42 and a 200 day simple moving average of $42.28. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52-week low of $37.59 and a 52-week high of $47.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a current ratio of 0.63. The company has a market cap of $186.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.66, a PEG ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.38.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 12.99% and a return on equity of 19.80%. The company had revenue of $33.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.31 billion. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.6775 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 10th. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.14%. Verizon Communications's dividend payout ratio is 64.52%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

VZ has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. 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 reissued a "sector perform" rating and set a $45.00 price target (up previously from $42.00) on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Tuesday, March 25th. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. Wolfe Research downgraded Verizon Communications from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Finally, Tigress Financial boosted their price target on Verizon Communications from $55.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $47.41.

Insider Activity

In other Verizon Communications news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 9,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.10, for a total value of $396,900.00. Following 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 21,500 shares of company stock valued at $938,400. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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).