Geneos Wealth Management Inc. cut its stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ – Free Report) by 10.6% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 161,980 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 19,297 shares during the period. Geneos Wealth Management Inc.’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $6,299,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Independence Bank of Kentucky lifted its stake in Verizon Communications by 1.9% during the first quarter. Independence Bank of Kentucky now owns 39,504 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,536,000 after purchasing an additional 732 shares in the last quarter. Archford Capital Strategies LLC lifted its stake in Verizon Communications by 7.0% during the fourth quarter. Archford Capital Strategies LLC now owns 26,844 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,058,000 after purchasing an additional 1,761 shares in the last quarter. Silvant Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Verizon Communications by 19.4% during the fourth quarter. Silvant Capital Management LLC now owns 9,687 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $382,000 after purchasing an additional 1,575 shares in the last quarter. Sloy Dahl & Holst LLC lifted its stake in Verizon Communications by 3.8% during the first quarter. Sloy Dahl & Holst LLC now owns 18,438 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $717,000 after purchasing an additional 675 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Elk River Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 10.3% in the first quarter. Elk River Wealth Management LLC now owns 74,638 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $2,903,000 after acquiring an additional 6,964 shares in the last quarter. 61.83% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
Several analysts have recently issued reports on VZ shares. HSBC reduced their price objective on Verizon Communications from $42.50 to $39.00 in a research note on Monday, June 5th. StockNews.com began coverage on Verizon Communications in a research note on Thursday, May 18th. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $46.00 target price on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Thursday, April 6th. Finally, Bank of America dropped their target price on Verizon Communications from $51.00 to $41.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 23rd. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $45.44.
Verizon Communications Stock Down 3.3 %
Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ – Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 25th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.19 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $32.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $33.64 billion. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 23.31% and a net margin of 15.85%. Verizon Communications’s revenue was down 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.35 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Verizon Communications Announces Dividend
The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 1st. Investors of record on Monday, July 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.6525 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 7th. This represents a $2.61 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.27%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is presently 50.78%.
Insider Buying and Selling
In related news, EVP Joseph J. Russo sold 7,585 shares of Verizon Communications 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 8,582 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $311,526.60. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.02% of the stock is currently owned by 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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