Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Shares Sold by Willis Investment Counsel

Willis Investment Counsel lowered its position in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 4.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 693,673 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after selling 31,670 shares during the quarter. Verizon Communications accounts for about 2.1% of Willis Investment Counsel's investment portfolio, making the stock its 12th biggest holding. Willis Investment Counsel's holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $31,465,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in VZ. Rockland Trust Co. grew its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 0.6% during the 1st quarter. Rockland Trust Co. now owns 430,386 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $19,522,000 after acquiring an additional 2,523 shares in the last quarter. Bellecapital International Ltd. lifted its position in Verizon Communications by 11.7% during the first quarter. Bellecapital International Ltd. now owns 42,302 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $1,919,000 after acquiring an additional 4,445 shares during the last quarter. Allen Mooney & Barnes Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Verizon Communications by 2.5% in the 1st quarter. Allen Mooney & Barnes Investment Advisors LLC now owns 30,421 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $1,380,000 after purchasing an additional 748 shares during the period. Spectrum Asset Management Inc. NB CA grew its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 0.6% during the 1st quarter. Spectrum Asset Management Inc. NB CA now owns 74,972 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $3,401,000 after purchasing an additional 482 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in Verizon Communications by 7.2% in the 1st quarter. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. now owns 409,051 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $18,555,000 after acquiring an additional 27,461 shares in the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Verizon Communications news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 9,000 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 10,008 shares in the company, valued at $441,352.80. This trade represents a 47.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 21,500 shares of company stock valued at $938,400. 0.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on VZ shares. Scotiabank lifted their price target on Verizon Communications from $48.50 to $49.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Wall Street Zen lowered Verizon Communications from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating and set a $45.00 price objective (up previously from $42.00) on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Tuesday, March 25th. Wolfe Research lowered Verizon Communications from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. Finally, Oppenheimer upped their price target on Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $47.41.

Verizon Communications Stock Down 0.5%

VZ traded down $0.21 during trading on Friday, hitting $42.96. 13,542,192 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 20,080,628. The stock has a market capitalization of $181.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.38, a PEG ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.38. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $43.41 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $42.30. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12-month low of $37.59 and a 12-month high of $47.36. The company has a current ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.19 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.15 by $0.04. The company 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 19.80% and a net margin of 12.99%. Analysts predict 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 will be paid on Friday, August 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, July 10th will be issued a $0.6775 dividend. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.31%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 10th. Verizon Communications's dividend payout ratio is 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).