Alps Advisors Inc. Sells 8,730 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Alps Advisors Inc. trimmed its stake in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 1.2% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 708,734 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after selling 8,730 shares during the quarter. Alps Advisors Inc.'s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $32,148,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 363,824,525 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $14,549,343,000 after buying an additional 5,697,337 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 96,823,092 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $3,862,441,000 after purchasing an additional 998,847 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,300,846,000. Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 12.4% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 45,043,310 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $1,801,282,000 after purchasing an additional 4,951,733 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 13.3% in the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 38,893,487 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $1,555,351,000 after purchasing an additional 4,568,518 shares in the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

Shares of Verizon Communications stock traded down $0.30 on Friday, reaching $41.74. The stock had a trading volume of 10,354,261 shares, compared to its average volume of 20,141,291. The business's 50-day moving average price is $43.18 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $42.35. 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 Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $37.59 and a fifty-two week high of $47.36. The stock has a market cap of $175.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.42 and a beta of 0.37.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.19 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.15 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $33.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $33.31 billion. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 13.14% and a return on equity of 19.66%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 10th will be issued a $0.6775 dividend. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.49%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 10th. Verizon Communications's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 64.52%.

Insider Transactions at Verizon Communications

In other Verizon Communications news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 9,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.10, for a total value of $396,900.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 10,008 shares of the company's stock, valued at $441,352.80. The trade was a 47.35% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 21,500 shares of company stock valued at $938,400. Insiders own 0.10% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

VZ has been the topic of a number of research reports. Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Monday. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $45.00 target price on the stock. Scotiabank boosted their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $48.50 to $49.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Thursday. They issued an "equal weight" rating and a $47.00 target price on the stock. Evercore ISI raised shares of Verizon Communications from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $48.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reissued a "sector perform" rating and issued a $45.00 target price (up from $42.00) on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Tuesday, March 25th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Verizon Communications currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $47.00.

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).