First Financial Bank Trust Division Reduces Stock Position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

First Financial Bank Trust Division lowered its position in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 2.2% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 21,390 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 488 shares during the period. First Financial Bank Trust Division’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $970,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Mainstream Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Mattson Financial Services LLC raised its holdings in Verizon Communications by 114.6% in the 4th quarter. Mattson Financial Services LLC now owns 777 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 415 shares in the last quarter. Capital A Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter worth $32,000. Graney & King LLC bought a new position in Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter worth $32,000. Finally, Compass Financial Services Inc bought a new position in Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter worth $33,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Stock Down 0.8%

NYSE:VZ opened at $43.17 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $182.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.43, a P/E/G ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a current ratio of 0.63. Verizon Communications Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $37.59 and a fifty-two week high of $47.36. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $43.57 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $42.17.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.19 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.15 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $33.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.31 billion. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 12.99% and a return on equity of 19.80%. Analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 10th were issued a dividend of $0.6775 per share. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.28%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 10th. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is presently 64.52%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. Wolfe Research lowered shares of Verizon Communications from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. Tigress Financial upped their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $55.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 28th. DZ Bank upgraded shares of Verizon Communications from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $40.00 price objective for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Verizon Communications from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 13th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $45.00 price objective (up from $42.00) on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $47.41.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 7,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.88, for a total transaction of $329,100.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 19,008 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $834,071.04. This trade represents a 28.29% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders have sold a total of 21,500 shares of company stock valued at $938,400 in the last 90 days. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by 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).