Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Shares Sold by Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC

Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC decreased its holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 33.2% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,359,299 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after selling 676,254 shares during the quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC's holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $61,685,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in VZ. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. grew its position in Verizon Communications by 81.0% in the first quarter. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. now owns 543 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 243 shares during the period. Cherry Tree Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Verizon Communications by 71.8% in the first quarter. Cherry Tree Wealth Management LLC now owns 584 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 244 shares during the period. Garde Capital Inc. acquired a new position in Verizon Communications during the first quarter worth $26,000. Mainstream Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Finally, Mattson Financial Services LLC lifted its stake in Verizon Communications by 114.6% during the fourth quarter. Mattson Financial Services LLC now owns 777 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 415 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.06% of the company's stock.

Verizon Communications Stock Up 0.5%

Verizon Communications stock opened at $42.32 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $178.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.08, a PEG ratio of 3.14 and a beta of 0.38. Verizon Communications Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $37.59 and a fifty-two week high of $47.36. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $43.15 and a 200-day simple moving average of $42.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a current ratio of 0.61.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.19 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 analysts' expectations of $33.31 billion. Equities research analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 10th will be paid a $0.6775 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 10th. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.40%. Verizon Communications's dividend payout ratio is presently 64.52%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Evercore ISI upgraded Verizon Communications from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $48.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Scotiabank increased their price objective on Verizon Communications from $48.50 to $49.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated a "sector perform" rating and issued a $45.00 price objective (up from $42.00) on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Tuesday, March 25th. Tigress Financial increased their price objective on Verizon Communications from $55.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut Verizon Communications from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. 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 company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Verizon Communications has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $47.41.

Insider Activity

In other Verizon Communications news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 5,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.48, for a total transaction of $212,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 36,508 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,550,859.84. This represents a 12.05% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Over the last three months, insiders sold 21,500 shares of company stock valued at $938,400. Insiders own 0.10% of the company's stock.

Verizon Communications Company 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).

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