Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Shares Sold by Adirondack Trust Co.

Adirondack Trust Co. lowered its holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 2.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 23,693 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 551 shares during the period. Adirondack Trust Co.’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $1,075,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Mainstream Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Mattson Financial Services LLC boosted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 114.6% in the fourth quarter. Mattson Financial Services LLC now owns 777 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 415 shares during the period. Graney & King LLC bought a new stake in Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Capital A Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, Compass Financial Services Inc bought a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 7,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.88, for a total transaction of $329,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 19,008 shares in the company, valued at $834,071.04. This trade represents a 28.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 21,500 shares of company stock valued at $938,400. Insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

Shares of VZ stock opened at $43.17 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $43.57 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $42.17. The firm has a market capitalization of $182.02 billion, a PE ratio of 10.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.39. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12 month low of $37.59 and a 12 month high of $47.36.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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. The firm had revenue of $33.50 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $33.31 billion. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.80% and a net margin of 12.99%. Analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently commented on VZ. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $45.00 target price (up previously from $42.00) on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Tuesday, March 25th. Wall Street Zen cut Verizon Communications from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 13th. Wolfe Research cut shares of Verizon Communications from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. Evercore ISI raised Verizon Communications from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $48.00 price target for the company in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Tigress Financial increased their price target on Verizon Communications from $55.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 28th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $47.41.

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).