Motco Decreases Stock Position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Key Points

• Motco has decreased its stake in Verizon Communications Inc. by 12.9%, selling 15,633 shares and owning 105,863 shares worth approximately $4.8 million at the end of the first quarter.
• Verizon reported a quarterly EPS of $1.22, exceeding analyst expectations, and achieved a revenue of $34.5 billion, a 5.2% year-over-year increase.
• In addition to the stock changes, Verizon recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.6775 per share, with a dividend yield of 6.29%.

Motco cut its stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 12.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 105,863 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after selling 15,633 shares during the period. Motco's holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $4,802,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Sargent Investment Group LLC boosted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 3.3% in the first quarter. Sargent Investment Group LLC now owns 7,125 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $323,000 after purchasing an additional 230 shares in the last quarter. Crescent Sterling Ltd. boosted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 0.8% in the first quarter. Crescent Sterling Ltd. now owns 30,906 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $1,402,000 after purchasing an additional 235 shares in the last quarter. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. boosted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 81.0% in the first quarter. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. now owns 543 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 243 shares in the last quarter. Cherry Tree Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 71.8% in the first quarter. Cherry Tree Wealth Management LLC now owns 584 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 244 shares in the last quarter. Finally, NCM Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. NCM Capital Management LLC now owns 18,390 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $735,000 after purchasing an additional 245 shares in the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Verizon Communications Stock Up 0.0%

Shares of Verizon Communications stock opened at $43.10 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $181.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.05, a PEG ratio of 3.33 and a beta of 0.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a current ratio of 0.64. Verizon Communications Inc. has a one year low of $37.58 and a one year high of $47.35. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $42.86 and a two-hundred day moving average of $42.51.

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

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The business 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 of this dividend is Thursday, July 10th. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.29%. Verizon Communications's payout ratio is currently 63.17%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on VZ. Evercore ISI raised shares of 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. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. Tigress Financial boosted their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $55.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Scotiabank boosted their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $48.50 to $49.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Verizon Communications from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Verizon Communications presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $47.35.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 9,000 shares of the 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 10,008 shares in the company, valued at $441,352.80. This trade represents a 47.35% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.10% of the stock is owned by corporate 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).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.