Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Shares Sold by GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC

GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC cut its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 22.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 24,860 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after selling 7,068 shares during the period. GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC's holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $1,128,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VZ. Mainstream Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Mattson Financial Services LLC raised its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 114.6% in the fourth 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 period. Graney & King LLC acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Capital A Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, Banque Transatlantique SA acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter worth about $35,000. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have weighed in on VZ shares. Tigress Financial upped their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $55.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a "sector perform" rating and issued a $45.00 price objective (up previously from $42.00) on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Tuesday, March 25th. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Verizon Communications from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $48.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Wolfe Research downgraded shares of Verizon Communications from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. Finally, Oppenheimer upped their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $47.41.

Insider Transactions at Verizon Communications

In other news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 7,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.88, for a total value of $329,100.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 19,008 shares in the company, valued at approximately $834,071.04. This represents a 28.29% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In the last three months, insiders have sold 21,500 shares of company stock worth $938,400. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

NYSE VZ traded down $0.61 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $43.13. 22,343,482 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 20,075,644. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52-week low of $37.59 and a 52-week high of $47.36. The company has a market capitalization of $181.85 billion, a PE ratio of 10.42, a PEG ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 0.63 and a quick ratio of 0.59. The firm's 50-day moving average is $43.40 and its 200-day moving average is $42.31.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.19 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.15 by $0.04. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 12.99% and a return on equity of 19.80%. The business had revenue of $33.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $33.31 billion. Equities analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The business 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 10th. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.28%. Verizon Communications's dividend payout ratio is currently 64.52%.

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).