Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank Sells 179,870 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Key Points

• Zurcher Kantonalbank reduced its stake in Verizon Communications by 6.9%, selling 179,870 shares during the 1st quarter, leaving them with 2,412,851 shares valued at approximately $109.4 million.
• Several large investors have increased their holdings in Verizon, with Bernard Wealth Management raising its stake by 81% in the same quarter.
• Analysts have set new price targets for Verizon's stock, with Bank of America increasing its target from $45 to $49, indicating a generally positive outlook for the company.

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank trimmed its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 6.9% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,412,851 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after selling 179,870 shares during the quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank owned 0.06% of Verizon Communications worth $109,447,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. grew its position in Verizon Communications by 81.0% during the first quarter. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. now owns 543 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 243 shares during the period. Cherry Tree Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Verizon Communications by 71.8% in the first 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 during the last quarter. Garde Capital Inc. bought a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Mattson Financial Services LLC grew its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 114.6% during 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 during the period. Finally, Capital A Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 9,000 shares of the 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 transaction, the chief executive officer owned 10,008 shares of the company's stock, valued at $441,352.80. This represents a 47.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.10% of the company's stock.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

NYSE:VZ traded up $0.02 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $43.10. The stock had a trading volume of 16,557,678 shares, compared to its average volume of 19,639,034. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $42.86 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $42.56. The firm has a market capitalization of $181.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.05, a P/E/G ratio of 3.33 and a beta of 0.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 0.64 and a quick ratio of 0.60. Verizon Communications Inc. has a one year low of $37.58 and a one year high of $47.35.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 21st. The cell phone carrier reported $1.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.19 by $0.03. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.61% and a net margin of 13.28%. The company had revenue of $34.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.47 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.15 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 1st. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 6.29%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 10th. Verizon Communications's dividend payout ratio is currently 63.17%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently commented on VZ shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Tigress Financial boosted their target price on Verizon Communications from $55.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Oppenheimer upped their price target on Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Finally, Arete Research upgraded Verizon Communications to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $47.35.

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).