Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Shares Sold by Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp

Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp lowered its stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 1.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 111,868 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 2,109 shares during the period. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $5,074,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. BridgePort Financial Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter worth $381,000. Meyer Handelman Co. boosted its position in Verizon Communications by 7.4% during the first quarter. Meyer Handelman Co. now owns 1,110,948 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $50,393,000 after purchasing an additional 76,083 shares in the last quarter. Rempart Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in Verizon Communications by 52.8% during the first quarter. Rempart Asset Management Inc. now owns 310,390 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $14,079,000 after purchasing an additional 107,200 shares in the last quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina lifted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 2,075,431 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $82,996,000 after acquiring an additional 20,610 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Welch Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 5.9% in the first quarter. Welch Group LLC now owns 1,137,904 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $51,126,000 after acquiring an additional 63,474 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Verizon Communications

In other Verizon Communications news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 9,000 shares of the business’s 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 owned 10,008 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $441,352.80. The trade was a 47.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders sold a total of 21,500 shares of company stock valued at $938,400 over the last ninety days. 0.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently commented on VZ shares. Oppenheimer upped their target price on Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. Bank of America started coverage on Verizon Communications in a research note on Monday, July 7th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $45.00 target price for the company. Tigress Financial upped their target price on Verizon Communications from $55.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Morgan Stanley began coverage on Verizon Communications in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $47.00 target price for the company. Finally, Scotiabank upped their price target on Verizon Communications from $48.50 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $47.00.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

Shares of Verizon Communications stock opened at $40.77 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $171.90 billion, a PE ratio of 9.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.28 and a beta of 0.37. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $42.88 and a 200-day simple moving average of $42.42. The company has a quick ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 0.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12 month low of $37.59 and a 12 month high of $47.36.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 analyst estimates of $33.31 billion. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS 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. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 10th will be given a $0.6775 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 10th. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.65%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is currently 64.52%.

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).