Levin Capital Strategies L.P. Sells 22,646 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Levin Capital Strategies L.P. trimmed its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 7.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 281,318 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after selling 22,646 shares during the quarter. Verizon Communications accounts for 1.3% of Levin Capital Strategies L.P.'s holdings, making the stock its 26th biggest position. Levin Capital Strategies L.P.'s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $12,761,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. boosted its position in Verizon Communications by 81.0% during the 1st quarter. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. now owns 543 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 243 shares during the last quarter. Garde Capital Inc. acquired a new position in Verizon Communications during the 1st quarter worth approximately $26,000. Cherry Tree Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Verizon Communications by 71.8% during the 1st quarter. Cherry Tree Wealth Management LLC now owns 584 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 244 shares during the last quarter. Accent Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Verizon Communications during the 1st quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, EQ Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Verizon Communications during the 1st quarter worth approximately $32,000. 62.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Verizon Communications

In other Verizon Communications news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 9,000 shares of Verizon Communications stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.10, for a total value of $396,900.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 10,008 shares in the company, valued at $441,352.80. The trade was a 47.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders own 0.10% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on VZ shares. Evercore ISI raised Verizon Communications from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $48.00 price target for the company in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Bank of America upped their price target on Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Verizon Communications from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, July 26th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Verizon Communications presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $47.35.

Verizon Communications Trading Up 0.2%

Shares of Verizon Communications stock opened at $42.96 on Tuesday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $42.74 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $42.75. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1 year low of $37.58 and a 1 year high of $47.35. The company has a market capitalization of $181.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.01, a P/E/G ratio of 3.31 and a beta of 0.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 0.64 and a quick ratio of 0.60.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 21st. The cell phone carrier reported $1.22 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.19 by $0.03. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.61% and a net margin of 13.28%. The firm had revenue of $34.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $33.47 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.15 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, July 10th were given a $0.6775 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 10th. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.3%. Verizon Communications's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 63.17%.

About Verizon Communications

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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