Kingsview Wealth Management LLC Has $6.01 Million Position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Kingsview Wealth Management LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 7.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 132,446 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 9,902 shares during the period. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $6,008,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. increased its stake in Verizon Communications by 81.0% in the 1st quarter. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. now owns 543 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 243 shares during the period. Cherry Tree Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 71.8% in the first quarter. Cherry Tree Wealth Management LLC now owns 584 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 244 shares during the period. Garde Capital Inc. bought a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the first quarter worth about $26,000. Mattson Financial Services LLC boosted its stake in Verizon Communications by 114.6% during the fourth quarter. Mattson Financial Services LLC now owns 777 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 415 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Graney & King LLC bought a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $32,000. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Verizon Communications news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 9,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.10, for a total transaction of $396,900.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 10,008 shares in the company, valued at approximately $441,352.80. This represents a 47.35% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 21,500 shares of company stock worth $938,400. Corporate insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Stock Down 0.7%

Shares of NYSE VZ opened at $40.96 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 0.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $42.94 and its 200 day simple moving average is $42.40. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12-month low of $37.59 and a 12-month high of $47.36. The firm has a market cap of $172.71 billion, a PE ratio of 9.75, a P/E/G ratio of 3.31 and a beta of 0.37.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.15 by $0.04. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 13.14% and a return on equity of 19.66%. The business had revenue of $33.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $33.31 billion. 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 Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 1st. Stockholders 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 6.62%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 10th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is presently 64.52%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VZ has been the topic of several research reports. Oppenheimer raised their price objective on Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on Verizon Communications in a report on Thursday, July 10th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $47.00 price objective for the company. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Tigress Financial increased their target price on Verizon Communications from $55.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 28th. Finally, Scotiabank increased their price objective on Verizon Communications from $48.50 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $47.00.

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).