Webster Bank N. A. lowered its position in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ – Get Rating) by 1.7% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 63,027 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 1,094 shares during the quarter. Webster Bank N. A.’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $2,451,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.
Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. HBC Financial Services PLLC raised its stake in Verizon Communications by 250.0% during the fourth quarter. HBC Financial Services PLLC now owns 700 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. Kepos Capital LP acquired a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter worth approximately $36,000. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. raised its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 111.8% during the 4th quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. now owns 1,057 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 558 shares during the period. True Wealth Design LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter worth approximately $42,000. Finally, Luken Investment Analytics LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter worth approximately $43,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 61.83% of the company’s stock.
Analyst Ratings Changes
A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on VZ. Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $46.00 price target on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Thursday, April 6th. StockNews.com began coverage on Verizon Communications in a research report on Thursday, May 18th. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. HSBC dropped their price target on Verizon Communications from $42.50 to $39.00 in a research report on Monday, June 5th. Finally, Bank of America dropped their price target on Verizon Communications from $51.00 to $41.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 23rd. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $45.44.
Verizon Communications Stock Performance
Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ – Get Rating) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 25th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.19 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $32.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.64 billion. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 23.31% and a net margin of 15.85%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.35 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Verizon Communications Announces Dividend
The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.6525 per share. This represents a $2.61 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.35%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 7th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is presently 50.78%.
Insider Transactions at Verizon Communications
In other news, EVP Joseph J. Russo sold 7,585 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.30, for a total transaction of $275,335.50. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 8,582 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $311,526.60. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Joseph J. Russo sold 7,585 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.30, for a total transaction of $275,335.50. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 8,582 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $311,526.60. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Craig L. Silliman sold 3,340 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.21, for a total value of $130,961.40. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 73,015 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,862,918.15. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 14,267 shares of company stock valued at $533,293 in the last three months. 0.02% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.
About Verizon Communications
Verizon Communications Inc, through its subsidiaries, provides 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).
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