Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Shares Sold by Silver Coast Investments LLC

Silver Coast Investments LLC cut its holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 7.5% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 6,092 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 492 shares during the quarter. Silver Coast Investments LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $276,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Verizon Communications by 737.5% during the first quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 11,697,003 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $530,576,000 after purchasing an additional 10,300,369 shares in the last quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. boosted its position in Verizon Communications by 3,601.6% during the fourth quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. now owns 8,937,180 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $357,398,000 after purchasing an additional 8,695,736 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its position in Verizon Communications by 52.7% during the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 19,828,378 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $792,937,000 after purchasing an additional 6,846,514 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in Verizon Communications by 12.4% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 45,043,310 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,801,282,000 after purchasing an additional 4,951,733 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its position in Verizon Communications by 13.3% during the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 38,893,487 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,555,351,000 after purchasing an additional 4,568,518 shares in the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have commented on VZ shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded Verizon Communications from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, July 26th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Bank of America boosted their target price on Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Finally, Scotiabank upped their price objective on Verizon Communications from $48.50 to $49.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $47.35.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Verizon Communications news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 9,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the chief executive officer owned 10,008 shares in the company, valued at $441,352.80. This represents a 47.35% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Verizon Communications Trading Up 0.2%

NYSE VZ opened at $42.84 on Monday. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12 month low of $37.58 and a 12 month high of $47.35. The company has a 50-day moving average of $42.75 and a 200-day moving average of $42.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 0.64 and a quick ratio of 0.60. The company has a market cap of $180.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.99, a P/E/G ratio of 3.31 and a beta of 0.36.

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

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 10th were issued a $0.6775 dividend. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.3%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 10th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is currently 63.17%.

Verizon Communications Company 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).