First Bank & Trust Sells 1,766 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

First Bank & Trust trimmed its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 1.6% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 107,066 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 1,766 shares during the quarter. Verizon Communications makes up about 0.9% of First Bank & Trust’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 18th largest holding. First Bank & Trust’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $4,857,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Brighton Jones LLC raised its holdings in Verizon Communications by 61.2% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 43,986 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,759,000 after purchasing an additional 16,704 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Verizon Communications by 11.2% during the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 74,370 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $2,974,000 after purchasing an additional 7,502 shares during the period. Modera Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Verizon Communications by 7.9% in the fourth quarter. Modera Wealth Management LLC now owns 22,355 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $894,000 after buying an additional 1,636 shares in the last quarter. Mission Wealth Management LP lifted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 24.0% during the 4th quarter. Mission Wealth Management LP now owns 56,543 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $2,261,000 after buying an additional 10,959 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Meridian Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 4.4% during the 4th quarter. Meridian Wealth Management LLC now owns 45,124 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $1,803,000 after acquiring an additional 1,907 shares during the period. 62.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Verizon Communications Trading Up 0.9%

Shares of VZ opened at $43.66 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $184.08 billion, a PE ratio of 10.40, a P/E/G ratio of 3.21 and a beta of 0.38. The company’s fifty day moving average is $43.16 and its 200 day moving average is $42.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a current ratio of 0.61. Verizon Communications Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $37.59 and a fifty-two week high of $47.36.

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 firm had revenue of $33.50 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $33.31 billion. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 13.14% and a return on equity of 19.66%. Sell-side analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share 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 issued a $0.6775 dividend. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.21%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 10th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 64.52%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Verizon Communications

In related news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 9,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.10, for a total transaction of $396,900.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 10,008 shares in the company, valued at approximately $441,352.80. This represents a 47.35% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 21,500 shares of company stock worth $938,400. Insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

VZ has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. 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. Scotiabank raised their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $48.50 to $49.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Royal Bank Of Canada restated 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. Evercore ISI raised Verizon Communications from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $48.00 price target on the stock in a report on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Verizon Communications currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $47.25.

Verizon Communications 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).