Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Shares Sold by Signet Financial Management LLC

Signet Financial Management LLC reduced its holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 3.7% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 19,668 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 747 shares during the quarter. Signet Financial Management LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $892,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 363,824,525 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $14,549,343,000 after buying an additional 5,697,337 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Verizon Communications by 7.3% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 108,694,230 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $4,346,682,000 after purchasing an additional 7,421,148 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Verizon Communications by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 96,823,092 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $3,862,441,000 after purchasing an additional 998,847 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $2,300,846,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in Verizon Communications by 12.4% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 45,043,310 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $1,801,282,000 after purchasing an additional 4,951,733 shares in the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Verizon Communications

In other Verizon Communications news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 7,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 19,008 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $834,071.04. The trade was a 28.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 21,500 shares of company stock valued at $938,400. Company insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

VZ stock opened at $44.12 on Wednesday. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52-week low of $37.59 and a 52-week high of $47.36. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $43.39 and its 200-day simple moving average is $42.30. The company has a quick ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. The stock has a market capitalization of $186.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.38.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.15 by $0.04. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.80% and a net margin of 12.99%. The business had revenue of $33.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $33.31 billion. Equities research analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, July 10th will be issued a $0.6775 dividend. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.14%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 10th. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is currently 64.52%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on VZ shares. Wall Street Zen downgraded Verizon Communications from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $45.00 price objective (up from $42.00) on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Tuesday, March 25th. Tigress Financial raised their price objective on Verizon Communications from $55.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Oppenheimer raised their price objective on Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. Finally, 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 report on Friday, April 11th. 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average 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).