Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Shares Sold by Econ Financial Services Corp

Econ Financial Services Corp cut its stake in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 43.7% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 28,073 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after selling 21,793 shares during the quarter. Econ Financial Services Corp's holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $1,273,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of VZ. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter worth $2,300,846,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter worth $1,083,337,000. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. lifted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 3,601.6% during the fourth quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. now owns 8,937,180 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $357,398,000 after purchasing an additional 8,695,736 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 7.3% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 108,694,230 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $4,346,682,000 after purchasing an additional 7,421,148 shares during the period. Finally, Capital Research Global Investors lifted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 52.7% during the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 19,828,378 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $792,937,000 after purchasing an additional 6,846,514 shares during the period. 62.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Verizon Communications Trading Up 0.7%

Shares of VZ stock opened at $42.66 on Wednesday. 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 $179.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.16, a P/E/G ratio of 3.14 and a beta of 0.38. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $43.25 and a 200-day simple moving average of $42.21. The company has a quick ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 0.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last announced its 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 13.14% and a return on equity of 19.66%. The firm had revenue of $33.50 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $33.31 billion. On average, analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, July 10th will be paid a $0.6775 dividend. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.35%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 10th. Verizon Communications's payout ratio is 64.52%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VZ has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Evercore ISI raised Verizon Communications from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $48.00 target price for the company in a report on Friday, April 11th. Wolfe Research downgraded Verizon Communications from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Verizon Communications from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, March 13th. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued a "sector perform" rating and issued a $45.00 target price (up previously from $42.00) on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. Finally, Oppenheimer raised their target price on Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Nine 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 company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $47.41.

Insider Activity at Verizon Communications

In other Verizon Communications news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 5,000 shares of Verizon Communications stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 23rd. The stock was 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 owns 36,508 shares in the company, valued at $1,550,859.84. The trade was a 12.05% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In the last quarter, insiders sold 21,500 shares of company stock valued at $938,400. 0.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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).

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