Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Holdings Lowered by Oppenheimer & Co. Inc.

Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. lowered its stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 3.9% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 545,644 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after selling 21,991 shares during the quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc.'s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $24,750,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in VZ. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. lifted its holdings 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 valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 243 shares in the last quarter. Cherry Tree Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Verizon Communications by 71.8% during the 1st quarter. Cherry Tree Wealth Management LLC now owns 584 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 244 shares in the last quarter. Garde Capital Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the first quarter worth approximately $26,000. Mainstream Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, Mattson Financial Services LLC grew its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 114.6% during the 4th quarter. Mattson Financial Services LLC now owns 777 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 415 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.06% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Insider Transactions at Verizon Communications

In other news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 7,500 shares of Verizon Communications stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.88, for a total transaction of $329,100.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 19,008 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $834,071.04. This trade represents a 28.29% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 21,500 shares of company stock worth $938,400. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Verizon Communications Trading Up 0.1%

Verizon Communications stock opened at $41.70 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a current ratio of 0.61. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $43.32 and its 200-day simple moving average is $42.21. The firm has a market capitalization of $175.80 billion, a PE ratio of 9.93, a PEG ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.38. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52 week low of $37.59 and a 52 week high of $47.36.

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. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 13.14% and a return on equity of 19.66%. The business had revenue of $33.50 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $33.31 billion. Equities research 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 declared 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 is Thursday, July 10th. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.50%. Verizon Communications's dividend payout ratio is 64.52%.

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).

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