Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Stake Lessened by Avior Wealth Management LLC

Avior Wealth Management LLC lowered its holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 5.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 27,613 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 1,624 shares during the period. Avior Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $1,065,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its holdings in Verizon Communications by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 2,170,563 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $81,830,000 after buying an additional 14,954 shares in the last quarter. Everence Capital Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 24.4% in the fourth quarter. Everence Capital Management Inc. now owns 142,640 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $5,378,000 after purchasing an additional 27,950 shares during the last quarter. Desjardins Global Asset Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 5.6% in the fourth quarter. Desjardins Global Asset Management Inc. now owns 23,745 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $895,000 after purchasing an additional 1,259 shares during the last quarter. Octavia Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 7.5% in the fourth quarter. Octavia Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 57,530 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $2,169,000 after purchasing an additional 4,038 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hamilton Point Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Hamilton Point Investment Advisors LLC now owns 71,220 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $2,685,000 after purchasing an additional 411 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

NYSE:VZ opened at $39.77 on Thursday. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1 year low of $30.14 and a 1 year high of $43.42. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $40.54 and a 200-day moving average of $38.17. The company has a current ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47. The stock has a market capitalization of $167.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.24 and a beta of 0.41.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, January 23rd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.08. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 8.67% and a return on equity of 20.71%. The company had revenue of $35.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $34.60 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.19 earnings per share. Verizon Communications’s quarterly revenue was down .6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 10th will be given a $0.665 dividend. This represents a $2.66 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.69%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 9th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 96.38%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 24,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.80, for a total value of $979,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 35,201 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,436,200.80. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.02% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on VZ. KeyCorp raised their price target on Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. StockNews.com downgraded Verizon Communications from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. Raymond James raised their price target on Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. Redburn Atlantic raised Verizon Communications from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $33.00 to $39.00 in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. Finally, Citigroup lifted their target price on Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 30th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $44.50.

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).