Insider Selling: Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) CEO Sells 5,000 Shares of Stock

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) CEO Kyle Malady sold 5,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.48, for a total transaction of $212,400.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 36,508 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,550,859.84. This represents a 12.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website.

Kyle Malady also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Monday, February 3rd, Kyle Malady sold 8,000 shares of Verizon Communications stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.88, for a total value of $319,040.00.
• On Wednesday, January 29th, Kyle Malady sold 11,085 shares of Verizon Communications stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.88, for a total value of $453,154.80.
• On Monday, January 27th, Kyle Malady sold 20,000 shares of Verizon Communications stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.54, for a total value of $810,800.00.

Verizon Communications Trading Up 1.1 %

Shares of VZ stock traded up $0.48 on Monday, hitting $42.39. The stock had a trading volume of 16,173,046 shares, compared to its average volume of 20,142,941. The company's 50 day moving average price is $43.64 and its 200-day moving average price is $41.96. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1 year low of $37.59 and a 1 year 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 market capitalization of $181.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.24, a P/E/G ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.41.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.19 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.15 by $0.04. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 12.99% and a return on equity of 19.80%. The firm had revenue of $33.50 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $33.31 billion. Analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, April 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.6775 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.39%. Verizon Communications's payout ratio is 64.52%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently commented on the stock. StockNews.com lowered shares of Verizon Communications from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on Verizon Communications from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Tigress Financial raised their price objective on Verizon Communications from $55.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday. TD Cowen upgraded shares of Verizon Communications to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Finally, DZ Bank upgraded Verizon Communications from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $40.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Nine research 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 company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $47.41.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in VZ. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. lifted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 81.0% during the 1st quarter. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. now owns 543 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 243 shares during the last quarter. Cherry Tree Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 71.8% during the first quarter. Cherry Tree Wealth Management LLC now owns 584 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 244 shares in the last quarter. Garde Capital Inc. purchased a new position in Verizon Communications during the 1st quarter worth approximately $26,000. Mainstream Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, Legend Financial Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Verizon Communications by 69.6% in the fourth quarter. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 780 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 320 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.06% of the company's stock.

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).