Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Shares Sold by Trust Co. of Virginia VA

Trust Co. of Virginia VA lessened its holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 1.8% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 48,484 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 883 shares during the period. Trust Co. of Virginia VA’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $2,034,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of VZ. Opinicus Capital Inc. lifted its stake in Verizon Communications by 4.5% during the 1st quarter. Opinicus Capital Inc. now owns 33,452 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,404,000 after acquiring an additional 1,447 shares in the last quarter. First Dallas Securities Inc. lifted its stake in Verizon Communications by 8.5% during the 1st quarter. First Dallas Securities Inc. now owns 30,464 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,278,000 after acquiring an additional 2,383 shares in the last quarter. Weaver Consulting Group lifted its stake in Verizon Communications by 8.7% during the 1st quarter. Weaver Consulting Group now owns 24,305 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,020,000 after acquiring an additional 1,948 shares in the last quarter. Independence Bank of Kentucky lifted its stake in Verizon Communications by 14.0% during the 1st quarter. Independence Bank of Kentucky now owns 35,253 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,479,000 after acquiring an additional 4,317 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Webster Bank N. A. lifted its stake in Verizon Communications by 2.6% during the 1st quarter. Webster Bank N. A. now owns 55,259 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $2,319,000 after acquiring an additional 1,426 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

NYSE:VZ traded up $0.42 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $41.24. 27,639,192 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 16,795,164. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $40.07 and a 200-day simple moving average of $40.02. The stock has a market capitalization of $173.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.40, a P/E/G ratio of 3.71 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a quick ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1 year low of $30.14 and a 1 year high of $43.42.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.12 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $33 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $33.23 billion. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 20.41% and a net margin of 8.44%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up .3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.20 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.59 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 Thursday, August 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 10th will be given a dividend of $0.665 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 10th. This represents a $2.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.45%. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is 99.25%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on VZ shares. Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $48.00 target price on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Tuesday, April 23rd. StockNews.com upgraded Verizon Communications from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, May 4th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on Verizon Communications from $36.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $40.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Finally, Tigress Financial upped their price target on Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 17th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $44.77.

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).