Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Shares Sold by Kingsview Wealth Management LLC

Kingsview Wealth Management LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 7.0% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 132,446 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after selling 9,902 shares during the quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC's holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $6,008,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VZ. Brighton Jones LLC grew its holdings in Verizon Communications by 61.2% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 43,986 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $1,759,000 after buying an additional 16,704 shares during the period. Proficio Capital Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 64.4% during the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 11,127 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $445,000 after acquiring an additional 4,360 shares in the last quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. increased its position in Verizon Communications by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 1,897,699 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $75,889,000 after buying an additional 41,384 shares during the period. Strategic Financial Services Inc. grew its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 4.0% in the fourth quarter. Strategic Financial Services Inc. now owns 7,113 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $284,000 after purchasing an additional 272 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lingohr Asset Management GmbH acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter valued at $797,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.06% of the company's stock.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

VZ opened at $40.96 on Friday. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $42.94 and its 200 day simple moving average is $42.40. 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 1 year low of $37.59 and a 1 year high of $47.36. The stock has a market capitalization of $172.71 billion, a PE ratio of 9.75, a P/E/G ratio of 3.31 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 earnings per share 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 analyst estimates of $33.31 billion. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 13.14% and a return on equity of 19.66%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 10th will be given a dividend of $0.6775 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 10th. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.62%. Verizon Communications's payout ratio is currently 64.52%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VZ has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Arete Research upgraded Verizon Communications to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Scotiabank upped their price objective on Verizon Communications from $48.50 to $49.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Bank of America assumed coverage on Verizon Communications in a report on Monday, July 7th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $45.00 price target for the company. Finally, Tigress Financial increased their price target on Verizon Communications from $55.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $47.00.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 9,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.10, for a total value of $396,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 10,008 shares in the company, valued at approximately $441,352.80. This trade represents a 47.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders have sold a total of 21,500 shares of company stock valued at $938,400 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.10% of the company's stock.

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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