Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Shares Sold by Plimoth Trust Co. LLC

Plimoth Trust Co. LLC cut its position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 19.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 64,256 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after selling 15,106 shares during the period. Plimoth Trust Co. LLC's holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $2,915,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in VZ. HCR Wealth Advisors grew its stake in Verizon Communications by 5.9% during the 1st quarter. HCR Wealth Advisors now owns 10,933 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $496,000 after acquiring an additional 605 shares in the last quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 13.7% during the 1st quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 308,894 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $14,011,000 after purchasing an additional 37,150 shares during the last quarter. Premier Path Wealth Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 2.1% in the first quarter. Premier Path Wealth Partners LLC now owns 46,270 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $2,099,000 after purchasing an additional 971 shares in the last quarter. Heartwood Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 15.1% in the first quarter. Heartwood Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 26,478 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $1,201,000 after purchasing an additional 3,478 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Centennial Wealth Advisory LLC increased its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 9.9% in the first quarter. Centennial Wealth Advisory LLC now owns 21,924 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $994,000 after purchasing an additional 1,970 shares during the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have issued reports on VZ shares. Oppenheimer upped 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. 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 note on Friday, April 11th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of 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 price target (up previously from $42.00) on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Tuesday, March 25th. Finally, Tigress Financial lifted their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $55.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $47.41.

Verizon Communications Trading Down 0.6%

Shares of VZ stock opened at $41.61 on Thursday. Verizon Communications Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $37.59 and a fifty-two week high of $47.36. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $43.39 and a 200 day moving average price of $42.24. The stock has a market capitalization of $175.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.38. 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 (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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. The business had revenue of $33.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.31 billion. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.66% and a net margin of 13.14%. Equities research analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 10th will be given a dividend of $0.6775 per share. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.51%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 10th. Verizon Communications's dividend payout ratio is presently 64.52%.

Insider Transactions at Verizon Communications

In other news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 7,500 shares of Verizon Communications stock in a transaction on 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 approximately $834,071.04. The trade was a 28.29% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 21,500 shares of company stock valued at $938,400. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate 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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