Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Stake Decreased by Private Management Group Inc.

Key Points

• Private Management Group Inc. reduced its stake in Verizon Communications by 3.9%, now holding 964,557 shares, making it the firm's 7th largest position.
• Verizon recently reported quarterly earnings of $1.22 per share, exceeding expectations, with revenue reaching $34.50 billion compared to a consensus estimate of $33.47 billion.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.6775 per share, representing an annualized yield of 6.28%, with the ex-dividend date set for July 10th.

Private Management Group Inc. lowered its position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 3.9% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 964,557 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after selling 39,629 shares during the period. Verizon Communications accounts for about 1.6% of Private Management Group Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 7th biggest position. Private Management Group Inc.'s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $43,752,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. BridgePort Financial Solutions LLC bought a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $381,000. Meyer Handelman Co. grew its stake in Verizon Communications by 7.4% in 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 purchasing an additional 76,083 shares during the period. Rempart Asset Management Inc. increased its position 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 purchasing an additional 107,200 shares during the last quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina increased its position 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 purchasing an additional 20,610 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Welch Group LLC increased its position 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 purchasing an additional 63,474 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 62.06% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on VZ shares. Scotiabank raised their target price on Verizon Communications from $48.50 to $49.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Tigress Financial boosted their target price on Verizon Communications from $55.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company boosted 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. Finally, Bank of America boosted their target price on Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Eleven 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $47.35.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

Verizon Communications stock traded up $0.02 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $43.10. 16,557,678 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 19,882,436. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52-week low of $37.58 and a 52-week high of $47.35. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $42.86 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $42.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a current ratio of 0.64. The company has a market cap of $181.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.05, a PEG ratio of 3.33 and a beta of 0.37.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 21st. The cell phone carrier reported $1.22 earnings per share (EPS) 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.47 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.15 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 10th will be paid a $0.6775 dividend. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.29%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 10th. Verizon Communications's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 63.17%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Verizon Communications

In other news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 9,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief executive officer owned 10,008 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $441,352.80. The trade was a 47.35% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 0.10% of the company's stock.

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).