Retirement Systems of Alabama Sells 20,945 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Retirement Systems of Alabama lessened its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 1.0% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 2,142,456 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 20,945 shares during the period. Retirement Systems of Alabama’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $97,182,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Crescent Sterling Ltd. boosted its position in Verizon Communications by 0.8% during the 1st quarter. Crescent Sterling Ltd. now owns 30,906 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $1,402,000 after buying an additional 235 shares during the period. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. raised its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 81.0% during the first quarter. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. now owns 543 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 243 shares during the last quarter. NCM Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. NCM Capital Management LLC now owns 18,390 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $735,000 after acquiring an additional 245 shares during the last quarter. CRA Financial Services LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 3.7% during the first quarter. CRA Financial Services LLC now owns 6,913 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $314,000 after purchasing an additional 246 shares during the period. Finally, IAG Wealth Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 12.8% in the first quarter. IAG Wealth Partners LLC now owns 2,189 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $99,000 after purchasing an additional 249 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

VZ stock opened at $41.61 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a current ratio of 0.61. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $43.36 and its 200-day moving average price is $42.23. Verizon Communications Inc. has a one year low of $37.59 and a one year high of $47.36. The company has a market capitalization of $175.46 billion, a PE ratio of 9.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.38.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.19 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.15 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $33.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.31 billion. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.66% and a net margin of 13.14%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

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 paid a $0.6775 dividend. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.51%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 10th. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is 64.52%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on VZ. Scotiabank lifted their price objective on Verizon Communications from $48.50 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Wolfe Research downgraded shares of Verizon Communications from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. Tigress Financial upped their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $55.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 28th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $45.00 target price (up previously from $42.00) on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Tuesday, March 25th. Nine investment 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’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Verizon Communications has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $47.41.

Insider Transactions at Verizon Communications

In other news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.48, for a total value of $212,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 36,508 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,550,859.84. This trade represents a 12.05% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 21,500 shares of company stock worth $938,400. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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).