Patton Albertson Miller Group LLC Sells 47,766 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Patton Albertson Miller Group LLC reduced its position in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 38.3% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 76,950 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after selling 47,766 shares during the period. Patton Albertson Miller Group LLC's holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $3,490,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in VZ. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. lifted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 81.0% in the first 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 period. Garde Capital Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the first quarter worth approximately $26,000. Cherry Tree Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of 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 worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 244 shares during the period. EQ Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the first quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, Mattson Financial Services LLC lifted 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 period. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VZ has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Scotiabank lifted their price objective on Verizon Communications from $48.50 to $49.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued a "sector perform" rating and issued a $45.00 price target (up from $42.00) on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Tuesday, March 25th. 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 note on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Morgan Stanley started coverage on Verizon Communications in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. They issued an "equal weight" rating and a $47.00 price target on the stock. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $47.00.

Verizon Communications Trading Down 0.7%

Shares of Verizon Communications stock opened at $40.96 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $42.94 and a 200 day simple moving average of $42.40. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12-month low of $37.59 and a 12-month high of $47.36. The company has a market capitalization of $172.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.31 and a beta of 0.37. The company has a current ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.66% and a net margin of 13.14%. The business had revenue of $33.50 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $33.31 billion. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, July 10th will be issued 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 yield of 6.62%. Verizon Communications's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 64.52%.

Insider Transactions at Verizon Communications

In other Verizon Communications 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 21,500 shares of company stock valued at $938,400. 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).

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