AM Investment Strategies LLC Sells 2,605 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

AM Investment Strategies LLC lessened its position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 8.7% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 27,492 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 2,605 shares during the period. AM Investment Strategies LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $1,247,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of VZ. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. raised its stake in Verizon Communications by 81.0% in the 1st 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 stake in Verizon Communications in the 1st quarter worth about $26,000. Cherry Tree Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Verizon Communications by 71.8% in the 1st quarter. Cherry Tree Wealth Management LLC now owns 584 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 244 shares in the last quarter. EQ Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Verizon Communications in the 1st quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, Mattson Financial Services LLC raised 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 worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 415 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 9,000 shares of Verizon Communications stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.10, for a total transaction of $396,900.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 10,008 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $441,352.80. The trade was a 47.35% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Trading Up 0.7%

Shares of Verizon Communications stock opened at $43.14 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $181.88 billion, a PE ratio of 10.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.31 and a beta of 0.37. The company has a current ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $42.88 and its 200 day moving average is $42.48. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1 year low of $37.58 and a 1 year high of $47.35.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 21st. The cell phone carrier reported $1.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.19 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $34.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.47 billion. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 13.28% and a return on equity of 19.61%. The firm’s revenue was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.15 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, July 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.6775 per share. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.28%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 10th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 63.17%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VZ has been the subject of several analyst reports. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Tigress Financial lifted their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $55.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Arete Research upgraded shares of Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Eleven investment 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. According to data from MarketBeat, Verizon Communications currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $47.35.

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).