Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Shares Sold by First American Trust FSB

First American Trust FSB cut its stake in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 22.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 6,089 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 1,728 shares during the period. First American Trust FSB’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $230,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA lifted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 627.8% in the 4th 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. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC raised its holdings in Verizon Communications by 130.1% in the 4th quarter. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC now owns 863 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 488 shares during the last quarter. HBC Financial Services PLLC lifted its stake in Verizon Communications by 320.0% in the 3rd quarter. HBC Financial Services PLLC now owns 1,050 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 800 shares in the last quarter. RVW Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $36,000. Finally, Financial Management Professionals Inc. grew its holdings in Verizon Communications by 58.4% in the 4th quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. now owns 1,096 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 404 shares in the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

Shares of NYSE VZ traded down $0.44 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $39.67. 3,497,795 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 19,563,414. The company has a market cap of $166.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.38, a PEG ratio of 3.24 and a beta of 0.41. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $40.58 and its 200 day moving average price is $38.10. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1 year low of $30.14 and a 1 year 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.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, January 23rd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.08. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 8.67% and a return on equity of 20.71%. The company had revenue of $35.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.60 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.19 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down .6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed 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. This represents a $2.66 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.71%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 9th. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is presently 96.38%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VZ has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Verizon Communications from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $46.00 price target for the company in a report on Thursday, January 4th. StockNews.com cut shares of Verizon Communications from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on Verizon Communications from $36.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $37.00 to $43.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. Finally, Raymond James increased their price objective on Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $44.50.

Insider Transactions at Verizon Communications

In other Verizon Communications news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.33, for a total transaction of $604,950.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 59,201 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,387,576.33. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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).