Retirement Planning Co of New England Inc. Has $290,000 Holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Retirement Planning Co of New England Inc. decreased its position in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 66.2% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 6,404 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after selling 12,527 shares during the quarter. Retirement Planning Co of New England Inc.'s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $290,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VZ. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. raised its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 81.0% during the 1st 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 during the period. Cherry Tree Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Verizon Communications by 71.8% in the 1st quarter. Cherry Tree Wealth Management LLC now owns 584 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 244 shares in the last quarter. Garde Capital Inc. acquired a new position in Verizon Communications in the 1st quarter valued at about $26,000. Mattson Financial Services LLC grew its position in Verizon Communications by 114.6% in the 4th quarter. Mattson Financial Services LLC now owns 777 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 415 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Graney & King LLC acquired a new position in Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.06% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Verizon Communications news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 9,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.10, for a total value of $396,900.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 10,008 shares in the company, valued at $441,352.80. The trade was a 47.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders sold 21,500 shares of company stock worth $938,400 over the last quarter. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Verizon Communications Stock Down 0.4%

Shares of NYSE:VZ traded down $0.18 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $40.77. 20,997,542 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 20,248,473. 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 52-week low of $37.59 and a 52-week high of $47.36. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $42.88 and its 200 day simple moving average is $42.40. The firm has a market cap of $171.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.71, a PEG ratio of 3.29 and a beta of 0.37.

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 analysts' consensus estimates of $1.15 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $33.50 billion during 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%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced 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 6.65%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 10th. Verizon Communications's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 64.52%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on VZ shares. Scotiabank boosted their target price on Verizon Communications from $48.50 to $49.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Evercore ISI raised Verizon Communications from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $48.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Friday, April 11th. 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 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. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $47.00.

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).