Bfsg LLC Has $5.21 Million Stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Bfsg LLC decreased its position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 1.1% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 114,811 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 1,261 shares during the period. Bfsg LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $5,208,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter worth approximately $2,300,846,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter valued at $1,083,337,000. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. boosted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 3,601.6% during the 4th quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. now owns 8,937,180 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $357,398,000 after buying an additional 8,695,736 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 7.3% during 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 buying an additional 7,421,148 shares during the period. Finally, Capital Research Global Investors boosted its position in Verizon Communications by 52.7% during the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 19,828,378 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $792,937,000 after purchasing an additional 6,846,514 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently issued reports on VZ. Tigress Financial lifted their price objective on Verizon Communications from $55.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Verizon Communications from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $45.00 target price (up from $42.00) on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Tuesday, March 25th. Finally, Wolfe Research lowered shares of Verizon Communications from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $47.41.

Insider Activity

In related 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 value of $329,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 19,008 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $834,071.04. This trade represents a 28.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Over the last 90 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 Down 1.2%

Shares of VZ stock opened at $42.48 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $179.09 billion, a PE ratio of 10.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.38. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12 month low of $37.59 and a 12 month high of $47.36. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $43.44 and a 200-day moving average of $42.25. The company has a quick ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.19 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.15 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $33.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $33.31 billion. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 12.99% and a return on equity of 19.80%. On average, equities analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 10th will be given a dividend of $0.6775 per share. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.38%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 10th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is currently 64.52%.

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).