Levin Capital Strategies L.P. Has $12.76 Million Stock Holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Levin Capital Strategies L.P. trimmed its position in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 7.5% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 281,318 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 22,646 shares during the period. Verizon Communications makes up approximately 1.3% of Levin Capital Strategies L.P.’s portfolio, making the stock its 26th biggest holding. Levin Capital Strategies L.P.’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $12,761,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in VZ. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 61.2% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 43,986 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,759,000 after acquiring an additional 16,704 shares during the period. Polymer Capital Management US LLC bought a new stake in Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter worth approximately $402,000. Certior Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter worth approximately $650,000. Twin Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in Verizon Communications by 5.0% in the fourth quarter. Twin Capital Management Inc. now owns 129,001 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $5,159,000 after purchasing an additional 6,109 shares in the last quarter. Finally, U S Wealth Group LLC. bought a new stake in Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter worth approximately $2,175,000. 62.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 9,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owned 10,008 shares in the company, valued at $441,352.80. This represents a 47.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VZ has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Tigress Financial lifted their target price on Verizon Communications from $55.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 28th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Scotiabank boosted their price objective on Verizon Communications from $48.50 to $49.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price objective on Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $47.35.

Verizon Communications Stock Up 0.2%

VZ stock opened at $42.96 on Tuesday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $42.74 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $42.75. The company has a current ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1-year low of $37.58 and a 1-year high of $47.35. The stock has a market cap of $181.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.01, a P/E/G ratio of 3.31 and a beta of 0.36.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 21st. The cell phone carrier reported $1.22 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.19 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $34.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $33.47 billion. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.61% and a net margin of 13.28%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.15 EPS. Analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

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

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).