Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Shares Sold by Unigestion Holding SA

Unigestion Holding SA cut its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 58.5% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 325,856 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after selling 459,725 shares during the period. Unigestion Holding SA's holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $14,781,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VZ. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its position in Verizon Communications by 61.2% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 43,986 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $1,759,000 after acquiring an additional 16,704 shares during the last quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC lifted its stake in Verizon Communications by 10.8% in the 4th quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 34,326 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $1,337,000 after purchasing an additional 3,345 shares in the last quarter. SYM FINANCIAL Corp acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter worth approximately $266,000. Round Rock Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $213,000. Finally, McAdam LLC increased its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 4.5% in the fourth quarter. McAdam LLC now owns 19,642 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $785,000 after purchasing an additional 853 shares during the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Verizon Communications news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 9,000 shares of Verizon Communications stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.10, for a total transaction of $396,900.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 10,008 shares of the company's stock, valued at $441,352.80. The trade was a 47.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In the last quarter, insiders sold 21,500 shares of company stock valued at $938,400. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Verizon Communications Trading Up 0.1%

Shares of VZ traded up $0.02 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $43.26. The stock had a trading volume of 12,058,240 shares, compared to its average volume of 19,998,580. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12-month low of $37.59 and a 12-month high of $47.36. The firm has a market cap of $182.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.45, a P/E/G ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a current ratio of 0.63. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $43.51 and its 200 day simple moving average is $42.26.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.19 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.15 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $33.50 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $33.31 billion. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.80% and a net margin of 12.99%. Equities research analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently issued reports on VZ. Tigress Financial raised their price objective 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. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Verizon Communications from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $48.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Royal Bank of Canada restated a "sector perform" rating and issued a $45.00 price objective (up previously from $42.00) on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. Finally, Wolfe Research cut Verizon Communications from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price 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).