Liberty One Investment Management LLC Decreases Position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Liberty One Investment Management LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 9.6% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 178,849 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after selling 19,078 shares during the quarter. Verizon Communications makes up approximately 0.8% of Liberty One Investment Management LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 26th biggest position. Liberty One Investment Management LLC's holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $8,113,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. lifted its stake in 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 during the last quarter. Cherry Tree Wealth Management LLC increased its position in 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 buying an additional 244 shares during the period. Garde Capital Inc. acquired a new position in Verizon Communications during the first quarter worth approximately $26,000. Mattson Financial Services LLC increased its position in Verizon Communications by 114.6% during the fourth quarter. Mattson Financial Services LLC now owns 777 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 415 shares during the period. Finally, Graney & King LLC acquired a new position in Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter worth approximately $32,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.06% of the company's stock.

Verizon Communications Stock Down 1.7%

Verizon Communications stock opened at $42.80 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 0.61 and a quick ratio of 0.58. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1-year low of $37.59 and a 1-year high of $47.36. The company has a market cap of $180.46 billion, a PE ratio of 10.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.23 and a beta of 0.37. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $43.24 and its 200 day moving average price is $42.33.

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 for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.15 by $0.04. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.66% and a net margin of 13.14%. The firm had revenue of $33.50 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $33.31 billion. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 10th will be given a dividend of $0.6775 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 10th. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.33%. Verizon Communications's payout ratio is 64.52%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Verizon Communications news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 9,000 shares of the business's 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 sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 10,008 shares in the company, valued at approximately $441,352.80. The trade was a 47.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders sold 21,500 shares of company stock worth $938,400 in the last quarter. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have commented on the company. Evercore ISI raised Verizon Communications from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $48.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed 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. Wall Street Zen lowered Verizon Communications from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. Wolfe Research lowered Verizon Communications from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. Finally, Tigress Financial boosted their target price on 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, seven have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $47.25.

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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