Paradigm Financial Partners LLC Sells 16,389 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Paradigm Financial Partners LLC cut its stake in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 41.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 23,239 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 16,389 shares during the period. Paradigm Financial Partners LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $876,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of VZ. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA boosted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 627.8% during the fourth quarter. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA now owns 655 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 565 shares in the last quarter. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC raised its holdings in Verizon Communications by 130.1% during the 4th quarter. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC now owns 863 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 488 shares during the last quarter. HBC Financial Services PLLC lifted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 320.0% in the third quarter. HBC Financial Services PLLC now owns 1,050 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 800 shares during the period. Finally, Cetera Trust Company N.A bought a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter valued at about $37,000. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

Shares of NYSE VZ opened at $39.68 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $167.02 billion, a PE ratio of 14.81, a PEG ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a quick ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $40.46 and its 200-day moving average price is $38.61. Verizon Communications Inc. has a twelve month low of $30.14 and a twelve month high of $43.42.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.15 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.12 by $0.03. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 20.41% and a net margin of 8.44%. The business had revenue of $33 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $33.23 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.20 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up .3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.6 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 10th will be given a $0.665 dividend. This represents a $2.66 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.70%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 9th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is 99.25%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently issued reports on VZ shares. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $37.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. Daiwa Capital Markets raised Verizon Communications from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $36.00 to $47.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. Citigroup upped 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. StockNews.com raised shares of Verizon Communications from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Tigress Financial boosted their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 25th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $44.21.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 24,000 shares of the firm’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 directly owns 35,201 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,436,200.80. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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).