Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Shares Sold by Baxter Bros Inc.

Baxter Bros Inc. trimmed its position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 6.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 8,739 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 572 shares during the period. Baxter Bros Inc.’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $396,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Verizon Communications Price Performance

Shares of VZ opened at $44.09 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a current ratio of 0.63. The firm has a market cap of $185.89 billion, a PE ratio of 10.65, a PEG ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.39. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $43.57 and its 200 day moving average price is $42.24. Verizon Communications Inc. has a twelve month low of $37.59 and a twelve month high of $47.36.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $33.31 billion. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 12.99% and a return on equity of 19.80%. As a group, research analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Verizon Communications

In related news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 7,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.88, for a total value of $329,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 19,008 shares in the company, valued at approximately $834,071.04. The trade was a 28.29% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In the last quarter, insiders sold 21,500 shares of company stock worth $938,400. 0.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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