Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Shares Sold by Retirement Systems of Alabama

Retirement Systems of Alabama cut its stake in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 1.0% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,142,456 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after selling 20,945 shares during the quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama owned 0.05% of Verizon Communications worth $97,182,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of VZ. Crescent Sterling Ltd. boosted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 0.8% during the first quarter. Crescent Sterling Ltd. now owns 30,906 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $1,402,000 after buying an additional 235 shares during the last quarter. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. increased its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 81.0% in the 1st quarter. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. now owns 543 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 243 shares during the last quarter. NCM Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. NCM Capital Management LLC now owns 18,390 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $735,000 after acquiring an additional 245 shares during the last quarter. CRA Financial Services LLC raised its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 3.7% in the 1st quarter. CRA Financial Services LLC now owns 6,913 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $314,000 after acquiring an additional 246 shares during the period. Finally, IAG Wealth Partners LLC boosted its stake in Verizon Communications by 12.8% during the 1st quarter. IAG Wealth Partners LLC now owns 2,189 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $99,000 after acquiring an additional 249 shares during the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Verizon Communications

In other Verizon Communications news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 9,000 shares of the company'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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 10,008 shares in the company, valued at $441,352.80. This represents a 47.35% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders sold a total of 21,500 shares of company stock worth $938,400 in the last quarter. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Verizon Communications Stock Down 0.6%

VZ stock opened at $41.61 on Friday. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $43.36 and its 200 day simple moving average is $42.23. The company has a market cap of $175.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.09 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 Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $37.59 and a fifty-two week high of $47.36.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last issued 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. 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 analysts' expectations of $33.31 billion. On average, research analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on VZ shares. Oppenheimer increased their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. 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 research note on Friday, April 11th. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated a "sector perform" rating and set a $45.00 target price (up from $42.00) on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. Tigress Financial increased their price target on Verizon Communications from $55.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, April 28th. Finally, Scotiabank raised their price target on Verizon Communications from $48.50 to $49.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus 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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