Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Shares Sold by AssuredPartners Investment Advisors LLC

AssuredPartners Investment Advisors LLC decreased its holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 65.5% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 25,265 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after selling 47,933 shares during the period. AssuredPartners Investment Advisors LLC's holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $1,146,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. grew its stake in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Garde Capital Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the first quarter worth $26,000. Cherry Tree Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Mainstream Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Finally, EQ Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the first quarter worth $32,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.06% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 5,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.48, for a total value 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 approximately $1,550,859.84. This represents a 12.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 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 Stock Performance

NYSE VZ opened at $42.35 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 0.61 and a quick ratio of 0.58. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1 year low of $37.59 and a 1 year high of $47.36. The company has a market capitalization of $178.56 billion, a PE ratio of 10.08, a P/E/G ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a fifty day moving average of $43.28 and a two-hundred day moving average of $42.21.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.15 by $0.04. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 13.14% and a return on equity of 19.66%. The company had revenue of $33.50 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $33.31 billion. As a group, analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The business 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.40%. Verizon Communications's dividend payout ratio is presently 64.52%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. Tigress Financial boosted their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $55.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Wolfe Research downgraded shares of Verizon Communications from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. 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 research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Verizon Communications from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. Finally, Oppenheimer boosted their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $47.41.

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).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.