Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Shares Sold by Foundation Resource Management Inc.

Foundation Resource Management Inc. cut its stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 2.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 618,468 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after selling 13,643 shares during the period. Verizon Communications makes up 4.4% of Foundation Resource Management Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 8th largest position. Foundation Resource Management Inc.'s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $28,054,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 363,824,525 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $14,549,343,000 after purchasing an additional 5,697,337 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 7.3% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 108,694,230 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $4,346,682,000 after purchasing an additional 7,421,148 shares during the period. 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 valued at $3,862,441,000 after purchasing an additional 998,847 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter valued at about $2,300,846,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in Verizon Communications by 12.4% during the fourth 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 during the period. 62.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Verizon Communications

In other news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 7,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.88, for a total transaction of $329,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 19,008 shares of the company's stock, valued at $834,071.04. The trade was a 28.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 21,500 shares of company stock valued at $938,400. Corporate insiders own 0.10% of the company's stock.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

Shares of NYSE VZ opened at $43.82 on Monday. Verizon Communications Inc. has a twelve month low of $37.59 and a twelve month high of $47.36. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $43.44 and a 200 day simple moving average of $42.28. The company has a market capitalization of $184.76 billion, a PE ratio of 10.58, a P/E/G ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a quick ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21.

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, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 the consensus estimate of $33.31 billion. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared 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. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.18%. Verizon Communications's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 64.52%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have commented on VZ shares. Evercore ISI raised 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. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a "sector perform" rating and issued a $45.00 price target (up from $42.00) on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. Scotiabank increased 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 report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Tigress Financial increased their target price 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. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Verizon Communications from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Verizon Communications has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $47.41.

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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