Colonial River Investments LLC Cuts Holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Colonial River Investments LLC cut its position in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 16.8% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 37,964 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 7,649 shares during the quarter. Verizon Communications makes up about 0.9% of Colonial River Investments LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 24th biggest position. Colonial River Investments LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $1,722,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. boosted its stake in Verizon Communications by 81.0% in 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. Cherry Tree Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Verizon Communications by 71.8% in the first quarter. Cherry Tree Wealth Management LLC now owns 584 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 244 shares during the last quarter. Garde Capital Inc. purchased a new position in Verizon Communications in the first quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Mainstream Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, Mattson Financial Services LLC lifted its stake in Verizon Communications by 114.6% in the fourth 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 during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

NYSE VZ opened at $42.32 on Friday. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52-week low of $37.59 and a 52-week high of $47.36. 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 has a market capitalization of $178.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.08, a P/E/G ratio of 3.12 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a fifty day moving average of $43.15 and a 200-day moving average of $42.21.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 19.66% and a net margin of 13.14%. The firm had revenue of $33.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.31 billion. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.40%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 10th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 64.52%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VZ has been the subject of several research reports. Tigress Financial increased their price target on Verizon Communications from $55.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Scotiabank raised their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $48.50 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Wall Street Zen lowered Verizon Communications from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 13th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $45.00 target price (up previously from $42.00) on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Tuesday, March 25th. Finally, Wolfe Research downgraded Verizon Communications from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $47.41.

Insider Buying and Selling at Verizon Communications

In other Verizon Communications news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.48, for a total transaction of $212,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 36,508 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,550,859.84. This represents a 12.05% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 21,500 shares of company stock worth $938,400. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by 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).