Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Shares Sold by Suvretta Capital Management LLC

Suvretta Capital Management LLC cut its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 2.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 738,414 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after selling 20,260 shares during the quarter. Suvretta Capital Management LLC's holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $29,529,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of VZ. Capital Advisors Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 11.8% in the 4th quarter. Capital Advisors Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,914 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $396,000 after acquiring an additional 1,046 shares during the last quarter. Cypress Wealth Services LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 8.5% in the 4th quarter. Cypress Wealth Services LLC now owns 20,001 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $800,000 after acquiring an additional 1,573 shares during the last quarter. Cohen Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Cohen Investment Advisors LLC now owns 61,749 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $2,469,000 after acquiring an additional 1,460 shares during the last quarter. Central Valley Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 8.9% in the 4th quarter. Central Valley Advisors LLC now owns 11,471 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $459,000 after acquiring an additional 935 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Empirical Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Verizon Communications by 177.4% during the 4th quarter. Empirical Asset Management LLC now owns 33,544 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $1,341,000 after buying an additional 21,451 shares during the period. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 5,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.48, for a total value of $212,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 36,508 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,550,859.84. This trade represents a 12.05% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Vandana Venkatesh sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.79, for a total transaction of $437,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 14,459 shares of the company's stock, valued at $633,159.61. This trade represents a 40.88% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 31,500 shares of company stock worth $1,376,300 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.10% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Tigress Financial upped their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $55.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Wolfe Research downgraded shares of Verizon Communications from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Scotiabank upped their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $48.50 to $49.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Evercore ISI raised shares of 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. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $47.41.

Verizon Communications Stock Up 1.1%

VZ opened at $43.97 on Friday. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $43.58 and its 200-day simple moving average is $42.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a current ratio of 0.63. Verizon Communications Inc. has a one year low of $37.59 and a one year high of $47.36. The stock has a market capitalization of $185.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.39.

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

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

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

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).

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