Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Shares Sold by Navalign LLC

Navalign LLC reduced its holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 18.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 7,621 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 1,689 shares during the period. Navalign LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $305,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Mainstream Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Graney & King LLC purchased a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Compass Financial Services Inc purchased a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Banque Transatlantique SA purchased a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, Hager Investment Management Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $38,000. 62.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Verizon Communications

In other news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 9,000 shares of Verizon Communications stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 10,008 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $441,352.80. The trade was a 47.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Vandana Venkatesh sold 10,000 shares of Verizon Communications stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.79, for a total value of $437,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,459 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $633,159.61. The trade was a 40.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 31,500 shares of company stock worth $1,376,300 over the last quarter. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

NYSE:VZ opened at $43.10 on Friday. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52 week low of $37.59 and a 52 week high of $47.36. The company has a quick ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. The company has a market capitalization of $181.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.41, a P/E/G ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.39. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $43.62 and its two-hundred day moving average is $42.10.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.19 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.15 by $0.04. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.80% and a net margin of 12.99%. The company had revenue of $33.50 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $33.31 billion. Equities analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 10th were given a $0.6775 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.29%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is currently 64.52%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on VZ shares. Evercore ISI upgraded Verizon Communications from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $48.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Verizon Communications from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. DZ Bank upgraded Verizon Communications from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $40.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Wolfe Research lowered Verizon Communications from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Finally, Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $47.41.

Verizon Communications 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).