Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Shares Sold by Patrick Mauro Investment Advisor INC.

Patrick Mauro Investment Advisor INC. cut its holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 0.3% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 227,244 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 642 shares during the period. Verizon Communications comprises approximately 5.6% of Patrick Mauro Investment Advisor INC.’s holdings, making the stock its 4th biggest position. Patrick Mauro Investment Advisor INC.’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $10,308,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. grew its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 81.0% in the first quarter. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. now owns 543 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 243 shares in the last quarter. Garde Capital Inc. acquired a new position in Verizon Communications in the 1st quarter worth approximately $26,000. Cherry Tree Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 71.8% during the first quarter. Cherry Tree Wealth Management LLC now owns 584 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 244 shares in the last quarter. EQ Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the 1st quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, Mattson Financial Services LLC increased its stake in Verizon Communications by 114.6% in the 4th quarter. Mattson Financial Services LLC now owns 777 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 415 shares during the period. 62.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Verizon Communications Trading Down 0.0%

VZ stock opened at $41.61 on Tuesday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $43.10 and a 200 day moving average price of $42.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 0.61 and a quick ratio of 0.58. Verizon Communications Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $37.59 and a fifty-two week high of $47.36. The stock has a market capitalization of $175.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.91, a P/E/G ratio of 3.34 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 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.15 by $0.04. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.66% and a net margin of 13.14%. The business had revenue of $33.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $33.31 billion. Analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 10th will be given a $0.6775 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 10th. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.51%. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is 64.52%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 9,000 shares of Verizon Communications stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.10, for a total value of $396,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 10,008 shares in the company, valued at $441,352.80. This trade represents a 47.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed 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 valued at $938,400. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

VZ has been the subject of several research reports. 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. Tigress Financial lifted their price target on Verizon Communications from $55.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Arete Research upgraded shares of Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Scotiabank lifted their price objective on Verizon Communications from $48.50 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $45.00 price target (up previously from $42.00) on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Tuesday, March 25th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $47.00.

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).