Stratos Wealth Advisors LLC Lowers Stock Holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Stratos Wealth Advisors LLC lowered its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 5.7% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 35,752 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 2,175 shares during the quarter. Stratos Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $1,622,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. lifted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 81.0% in the 1st quarter. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. now owns 543 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 243 shares during the last quarter. Cherry Tree Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Garde Capital Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the first quarter worth $26,000. Mattson Financial Services LLC increased its holdings in Verizon Communications by 114.6% during the 4th quarter. Mattson Financial Services LLC now owns 777 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 415 shares during the period. Finally, Graney & King LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter worth approximately $32,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

Shares of VZ stock opened at $43.06 on Wednesday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $43.24 and its 200-day simple moving average is $42.33. The company has a current ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1-year low of $37.59 and a 1-year high of $47.36. The company has a market capitalization of $181.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.25, a P/E/G ratio of 3.04 and a beta of 0.37.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last released 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.31 billion. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 13.14% and a return on equity of 19.66%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The firm 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.29%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 10th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is 64.52%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VZ has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Wolfe Research lowered shares of Verizon Communications from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. 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. Bank of America started coverage on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Monday. They set a “neutral” rating and a $45.00 price objective for the company. Wall Street Zen cut Verizon Communications from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 13th. Finally, Oppenheimer upped their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $47.25.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 9,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.10, for a total transaction of $396,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 10,008 shares in the company, valued at $441,352.80. This trade represents a 47.35% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 21,500 shares of company stock valued at $938,400. Corporate insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

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).