Alpha Omega Wealth Management LLC Has $10.66 Million Stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Alpha Omega Wealth Management LLC lowered its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 2.7% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 234,993 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after selling 6,481 shares during the quarter. Verizon Communications makes up 2.0% of Alpha Omega Wealth Management LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 5th biggest holding. Alpha Omega Wealth Management LLC's holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $10,659,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VZ. Mainstream Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Mattson Financial Services LLC increased its stake in Verizon Communications by 114.6% in the 4th 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 last quarter. Graney & King LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. Capital A Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, Banque Transatlantique SA bought a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Institutional investors own 62.06% of the company's stock.

Verizon Communications Trading Down 1.4%

Verizon Communications stock traded down $0.61 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $43.13. The company had a trading volume of 22,343,482 shares, compared to its average volume of 20,075,659. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a current ratio of 0.63. The firm has a market cap of $181.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.42, a P/E/G ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $43.41 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $42.30. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1 year low of $37.59 and a 1 year high of $47.36.

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, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.15 by $0.04. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.80% and a net margin of 12.99%. The firm had revenue of $33.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.31 billion. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 10th will be given a dividend of $0.6775 per share. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.28%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 10th. Verizon Communications's payout ratio is 64.52%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Oppenheimer upped their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. Scotiabank upped their target price 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. Evercore ISI upgraded 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. Wall Street Zen downgraded Verizon Communications from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a "sector perform" rating and issued a $45.00 target price (up previously from $42.00) on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $47.41.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 5,000 shares of Verizon Communications stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.48, for a total transaction of $212,400.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 36,508 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,550,859.84. This trade represents a 12.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 21,500 shares of company stock worth $938,400. Company insiders own 0.10% of the company's stock.

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).