V2 Financial group LLC Lowers Stock Position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

V2 Financial group LLC trimmed its stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 82.0% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 17,030 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after selling 77,469 shares during the period. V2 Financial group LLC's holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $772,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. raised its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 81.0% in the 1st 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 raised its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 71.8% in the 1st 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. Garde Capital Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the 1st quarter valued at about $26,000. Mattson Financial Services LLC raised its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 114.6% in the 4th quarter. Mattson Financial Services LLC now owns 777 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 415 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Graney & King LLC bought a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. 62.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently commented on VZ. Arete Research upgraded shares of Verizon Communications to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Morgan Stanley began coverage on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Thursday. They set an "equal weight" rating and a $47.00 price objective for the company. Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Tigress Financial boosted their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $55.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $47.00.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

Verizon Communications stock traded down $0.40 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $41.63. 20,156,157 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 20,246,153. 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 fifty-two week low of $37.59 and a fifty-two week high of $47.36. The company has a market capitalization of $175.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.34 and a beta of 0.37. The firm's fifty day moving average is $43.14 and its two-hundred day moving average is $42.38.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.15 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $33.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.31 billion. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 13.14% and a return on equity of 19.66%. On average, equities research analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 10th will be issued a $0.6775 dividend. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.51%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 10th. Verizon Communications's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 64.52%.

Insider Activity at Verizon Communications

In other news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 9,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 7th. The shares were 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 represents a 47.35% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 21,500 shares of company stock valued at $938,400. 0.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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).