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

Avior Wealth Management LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 5.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund 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 filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Portland Investment Counsel Inc. raised its holdings in Verizon Communications by 173.7% during the third quarter. Portland Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 652,169 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $21,137,000 after purchasing an additional 413,869 shares in the last quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC grew its position in Verizon Communications by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 127,632 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $5,131,000 after buying an additional 1,616 shares during the last quarter. 180 Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in Verizon Communications by 6.2% in the third quarter. 180 Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 51,757 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,677,000 after buying an additional 3,020 shares during the last quarter. GFS Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter worth approximately $212,000. Finally, Fidelity D & D Bancorp Inc. acquired a new position in Verizon Communications in the third quarter worth approximately $306,000. Institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com lowered shares of Verizon Communications from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. Redburn Atlantic upgraded shares of Verizon Communications from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $33.00 to $39.00 in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $40.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Verizon Communications from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $46.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 4th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 26th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Verizon Communications has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $44.50.

Insider Activity at Verizon Communications

In other news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 24,000 shares of Verizon Communications stock in a transaction dated 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 $1,436,200.80. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.02% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

VZ opened at $39.77 on Thursday. Verizon Communications Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $30.14 and a fifty-two week high of $43.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47, a current ratio of 0.69 and a quick ratio of 0.65. The firm has a market capitalization of $167.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.41, a PEG ratio of 3.24 and a beta of 0.41. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $40.54 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $38.17.

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

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

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

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).