Ledyard National Bank reduced its stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ – Free Report) by 16.8% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 17,124 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 3,463 shares during the quarter. Ledyard National Bank’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $666,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.
Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. tru Independence LLC grew its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 2.9% in the first quarter. tru Independence LLC now owns 129,367 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $5,031,000 after purchasing an additional 3,662 shares during the period. Everett Harris & Co. CA grew its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 0.3% in the first quarter. Everett Harris & Co. CA now owns 566,768 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $22,042,000 after purchasing an additional 1,675 shares during the period. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 10.6% in the first quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 655,981 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $25,511,000 after acquiring an additional 62,742 shares during the last quarter. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 38.2% in the first quarter. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC now owns 42,059 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,636,000 after acquiring an additional 11,634 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Asset Management One Co. Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 2.0% in the first quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 2,161,047 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $84,043,000 after acquiring an additional 41,708 shares during the last quarter. 61.83% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
Verizon Communications Stock Performance
Shares of VZ opened at $35.90 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $150.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.98, a PEG ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a quick ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.49. The business’s 50 day moving average is $36.32 and its two-hundred day moving average is $38.23. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52-week low of $33.72 and a 52-week high of $51.36.
Verizon Communications Announces Dividend
The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 10th will be issued a $0.6525 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 7th. This represents a $2.61 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.27%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 50.78%.
Insider Activity at Verizon Communications
In other Verizon Communications news, EVP Joseph J. Russo sold 7,585 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 23rd. The shares were 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 owns 8,582 shares in the company, valued at $311,526.60. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.02% of the company’s stock.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on VZ shares. Bank of America decreased their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $51.00 to $41.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 23rd. HSBC cut their target price on Verizon Communications from $42.50 to $39.00 in a research report on Monday, June 5th. StockNews.com began coverage on Verizon Communications in a research report on Thursday, May 18th. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Finally, Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $46.00 target price on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Thursday, April 6th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $45.44.
Verizon Communications Profile
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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