Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Shares Sold by Wesleyan Assurance Society

Wesleyan Assurance Society lessened its position in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 3.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 322,564 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after selling 9,919 shares during the period. Wesleyan Assurance Society's holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $12,909,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 27.7% during the 4th quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 222,366 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $8,892,000 after buying an additional 48,294 shares during the last quarter. Roffman Miller Associates Inc. PA boosted its stake in Verizon Communications by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Roffman Miller Associates Inc. PA now owns 382,678 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $15,303,000 after acquiring an additional 6,795 shares during the period. Global Wealth Management Investment Advisory Inc. bought a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $4,333,000. Private Advisor Group LLC raised its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 64.6% during the 4th quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 1,394,921 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $55,783,000 after purchasing an additional 547,384 shares during the period. Finally, Axis Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,200,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.06% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently commented on VZ. Wolfe Research lowered shares of Verizon Communications from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. Tigress Financial raised their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $55.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a "sector perform" rating and set a $45.00 price objective (up from $42.00) on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Tuesday, March 25th. Scotiabank increased their price objective on Verizon Communications from $48.50 to $49.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Oppenheimer lifted their target price on Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $47.41.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 7,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 in the company, valued at approximately $834,071.04. This trade represents a 28.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Vandana Venkatesh sold 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.79, for a total transaction of $437,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 14,459 shares in the company, valued at approximately $633,159.61. This represents a 40.88% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 31,500 shares of company stock worth $1,376,300 over the last 90 days. 0.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Verizon Communications Stock Up 0.7%

VZ stock opened at $44.30 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $186.78 billion, a PE ratio of 10.70, a P/E/G ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.39. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12 month low of $37.59 and a 12 month high of $47.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 0.63 and a quick ratio of 0.59. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $43.62 and a 200 day simple moving average of $42.06.

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

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 10th were given a $0.6775 dividend. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.12%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 10th. Verizon Communications's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 64.52%.

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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