Money Concepts Capital Corp Lowers Position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Money Concepts Capital Corp decreased its position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 27.0% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 107,556 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after selling 39,734 shares during the quarter. Money Concepts Capital Corp's holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $4,879,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of VZ. Achmea Investment Management B.V. lifted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 25.2% during the first quarter. Achmea Investment Management B.V. now owns 823,139 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $37,337,000 after acquiring an additional 165,906 shares in the last quarter. Philip James Wealth Mangement LLC purchased a new stake in Verizon Communications in the 1st quarter worth approximately $204,000. Jaffetilchin Investment Partners LLC boosted its stake in Verizon Communications by 25.8% during the first quarter. Jaffetilchin Investment Partners LLC now owns 56,721 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $2,573,000 after buying an additional 11,643 shares during the period. Canvas Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 9.4% during the first quarter. Canvas Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 6,138 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $265,000 after purchasing an additional 529 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Old North State Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 6.2% during the 1st quarter. Old North State Wealth Management LLC now owns 44,218 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $2,007,000 after buying an additional 2,599 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.06% of the company's stock.

Verizon Communications Stock Down 0.0%

NYSE:VZ opened at $42.11 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $177.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.12 and a beta of 0.38. Verizon Communications Inc. has a twelve month low of $37.59 and a twelve month high of $47.36. The company has a current ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $43.18 and a 200-day simple moving average of $42.21.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.15 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $33.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $33.31 billion. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.66% and a net margin of 13.14%. Analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 10th will be given a $0.6775 dividend. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.44%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 10th. Verizon Communications's payout ratio is currently 64.52%.

Insider Activity at Verizon Communications

In related news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 9,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on 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 now directly owns 10,008 shares of the company's stock, valued at $441,352.80. This represents a 47.35% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders sold 21,500 shares of company stock valued at $938,400 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.10% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Wolfe Research cut shares of Verizon Communications from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. Wall Street Zen cut Verizon Communications from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. 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. Tigress Financial lifted their price objective on Verizon Communications from $55.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Finally, Oppenheimer upped their target price on Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $47.41.

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).

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