Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Shares Sold by Pettyjohn Wood & White Inc.

Key Points

• Pettyjohn Wood & White Inc. reduced its stake in Verizon Communications by 9.6%, now holding 134,220 shares, worth approximately $6.1 million.
• Several institutional investors have increased their positions in Verizon, with notable boosts from Bernard Wealth Management by 81% and Cherry Tree Wealth Management by 71.8% during the first quarter.
• Verizon recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.6775 per share, representing an annualized yield of 6.3%, to be paid on August 1st to investors of record by July 10th.

Pettyjohn Wood & White Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 9.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 134,220 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after selling 14,231 shares during the quarter. Verizon Communications accounts for about 1.2% of Pettyjohn Wood & White Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 26th largest holding. Pettyjohn Wood & White Inc.'s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $6,088,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. BridgePort Financial Solutions LLC purchased a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $381,000. Meyer Handelman Co. boosted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 7.4% during the 1st quarter. Meyer Handelman Co. now owns 1,110,948 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $50,393,000 after buying an additional 76,083 shares during the last quarter. Rempart Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 52.8% during the 1st quarter. Rempart Asset Management Inc. now owns 310,390 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $14,079,000 after buying an additional 107,200 shares during the last quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina boosted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 2,075,431 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $82,996,000 after buying an additional 20,610 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Welch Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 5.9% during the 1st quarter. Welch Group LLC now owns 1,137,904 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $51,126,000 after buying an additional 63,474 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.06% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Verizon Communications news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 9,000 shares of the 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 sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 10,008 shares of the company's stock, valued at $441,352.80. This trade represents a 47.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

VZ traded up $0.08 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $42.84. 20,824,312 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 19,617,524. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12 month low of $37.58 and a 12 month high of $47.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 0.64 and a quick ratio of 0.60. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $42.75 and a 200-day simple moving average of $42.66. The stock has a market cap of $180.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 0.36.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results 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 analyst estimates of $33.47 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.15 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

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 $0.6775 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 10th. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.3%. Verizon Communications's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 63.17%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently commented on VZ shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Evercore ISI upgraded Verizon Communications from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $48.00 target price for the company in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Finally, Scotiabank raised 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. Eleven research 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's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $47.35.

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).