Laird Norton Wetherby Wealth Management LLC Sells 15,556 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Laird Norton Wetherby Wealth Management LLC lowered its holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 16.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 76,277 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after selling 15,556 shares during the quarter. Laird Norton Wetherby Wealth Management LLC's holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $3,050,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of VZ. Mainstream Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Graney & King LLC acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. Compass Financial Services Inc acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter valued at $33,000. Banque Transatlantique SA acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter valued at $35,000. Finally, Hager Investment Management Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter valued at $38,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.06% of the company's stock.

Verizon Communications Stock Up 1.1%

Shares of NYSE:VZ traded up $0.49 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $43.97. 13,389,383 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 20,191,021. The company has a quick ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. The company has a market cap of $185.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.62, a P/E/G ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.39. Verizon Communications Inc. has a one year low of $37.59 and a one year high of $47.36. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $43.58 and its 200-day simple moving average is $42.04.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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. The business had revenue of $33.50 billion during 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%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, April 10th were issued a dividend of $0.6775 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.16%. Verizon Communications's payout ratio is presently 64.52%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on VZ shares. Wolfe Research lowered Verizon Communications from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Evercore ISI raised Verizon Communications from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $48.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Tigress Financial increased 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. DZ Bank raised Verizon Communications from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $40.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Argus raised Verizon Communications to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Nine equities 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 company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Verizon Communications currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $47.41.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Verizon Communications news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 7,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.88, for a total value of $329,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 19,008 shares in the company, valued at $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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Vandana Venkatesh sold 10,000 shares of the firm'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 value of $437,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 14,459 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $633,159.61. This represents a 40.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 31,500 shares of company stock worth $1,376,300. 0.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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).