Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Shares Sold by JT Stratford LLC

JT Stratford LLC decreased its stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ – Get Rating) by 76.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 12,213 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 39,469 shares during the period. JT Stratford LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $635,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Mezzasalma Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Mezzasalma Advisors LLC now owns 10,687 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $555,000 after purchasing an additional 191 shares during the last quarter. Weaver Consulting Group raised its stake in Verizon Communications by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Weaver Consulting Group now owns 14,798 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $769,000 after acquiring an additional 192 shares in the last quarter. Reitz Capital Advisors LLC raised its stake in Verizon Communications by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Reitz Capital Advisors LLC now owns 9,818 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $550,000 after acquiring an additional 195 shares in the last quarter. Diversified LLC raised its stake in Verizon Communications by 5.1% during the 4th quarter. Diversified LLC now owns 4,114 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $214,000 after acquiring an additional 199 shares in the last quarter. Finally, E&G Advisors LP raised its stake in Verizon Communications by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. E&G Advisors LP now owns 19,903 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $1,034,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. 63.78% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

In other Verizon Communications news, EVP Craig L. Silliman sold 1,558 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.48, for a total value of $84,879.84. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Tami A. Erwin sold 23,647 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.77, for a total value of $1,176,911.19. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 21,817 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,085,832.09. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 26,763 shares of company stock worth $1,342,807 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Several analysts have weighed in on VZ shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price on Verizon Communications from $56.00 to $57.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 25th. StockNews.com raised Verizon Communications from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 12th. Tigress Financial lifted their target price on Verizon Communications from $67.00 to $68.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 21st. William Blair reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Monday, April 25th. Finally, DZ Bank downgraded Verizon Communications from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $44.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Friday, April 29th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $57.93.

Shares of NYSE VZ traded down $0.15 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $48.74. The company had a trading volume of 605,269 shares, compared to its average volume of 27,974,560. The company has a current ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64. The stock has a market cap of $204.69 billion, a PE ratio of 9.43, a P/E/G ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $50.96 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $52.06. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1-year low of $45.55 and a 1-year high of $57.61.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ – Get Rating) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.35 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.35. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 28.15% and a net margin of 15.93%. The business had revenue of $33.60 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $33.61 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.31 earnings per share. Verizon Communications’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 5.4 EPS for the current year.

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 8th were paid a $0.64 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 7th. This represents a $2.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.25%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 49.71%.

Verizon Communications Company Profile (Get Rating)

Verizon Communications Inc, through its subsidiaries, offers communications, technology, information, and entertainment products and services to consumers, businesses, and governmental entities worldwide. Its Consumer segment provides postpaid and prepaid service plans; internet access on notebook computers and tablets; wireless equipment, including smartphones and other handsets; and wireless-enabled internet devices, such as tablets, and other wireless-enabled connected devices comprising smart watches.

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