Graves Light Lenhart Wealth Inc. Has $1.05 Million Holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Graves Light Lenhart Wealth Inc. cut its holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 3.5% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 23,141 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 836 shares during the quarter. Graves Light Lenhart Wealth Inc.’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $1,050,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VZ. Brighton Jones LLC raised its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 61.2% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 43,986 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,759,000 after purchasing an additional 16,704 shares during the period. Heck Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter worth approximately $154,000. Waldron Private Wealth LLC raised its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 9.6% during the fourth quarter. Waldron Private Wealth LLC now owns 25,015 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,000,000 after purchasing an additional 2,184 shares during the period. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC raised its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 10.8% during the fourth quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 34,326 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,337,000 after purchasing an additional 3,345 shares during the period. Finally, China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 37.8% during the fourth quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 20,842 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $833,000 after purchasing an additional 5,718 shares during the period. 62.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Verizon Communications

In other news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 9,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.10, for a total transaction of $396,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 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 can be accessed through this hyperlink. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 21,500 shares of company stock worth $938,400. 0.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Verizon Communications Stock Up 1.4%

Shares of NYSE:VZ opened at $43.92 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $185.18 billion, a PE ratio of 10.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 0.63 and a quick ratio of 0.59. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $43.57 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $42.23. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1 year low of $37.59 and a 1 year high of $47.36.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.19 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.15 by $0.04. The company 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 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on VZ. Wolfe Research lowered Verizon Communications from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. Tigress Financial upped 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. Oppenheimer upped their price target on Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $45.00 price target (up previously from $42.00) on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Verizon Communications from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 13th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $47.41.

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).