Wesbanco Bank Inc. Trims Stock Holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Wesbanco Bank Inc. lowered its holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 2.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 140,528 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 2,975 shares during the period. Wesbanco Bank Inc.’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $6,374,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Mainstream Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Mattson Financial Services LLC increased its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 114.6% during the 4th quarter. Mattson Financial Services LLC now owns 777 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 415 shares during the period. Capital A Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter worth $32,000. Graney & King LLC acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter worth $32,000. Finally, Compass Financial Services Inc acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter worth $33,000. Institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VZ has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Oppenheimer raised their target price on Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. Tigress Financial boosted their price target on Verizon Communications from $55.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $45.00 price objective (up previously from $42.00) on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Tuesday, March 25th. Evercore ISI raised Verizon Communications from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $48.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Scotiabank boosted their price target on Verizon Communications from $48.50 to $49.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $47.41.

Verizon Communications Stock Up 1.2%

NYSE VZ opened at $43.82 on Monday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $43.44 and its 200 day simple moving average is $42.28. Verizon Communications Inc. has a one year low of $37.59 and a one 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 cap of $184.76 billion, a PE ratio of 10.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.38.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.19 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.15 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $33.50 billion for 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, sell-side analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, July 10th will be given a $0.6775 dividend. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.18%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is currently 64.52%.

Insider Activity at Verizon Communications

In other news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 9,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.10, for a total value of $396,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 10,008 shares in the company, valued at $441,352.80. This trade represents a 47.35% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders sold a total of 21,500 shares of company stock worth $938,400 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.10% 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).