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

Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp lessened its position in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 8.6% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 125,325 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 11,810 shares during the quarter. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $4,661,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Cascade Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Verizon Communications during the first quarter worth about $32,000. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd grew its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 544.2% in the second quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd now owns 889 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 751 shares in the last quarter. Kepos Capital LP acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Founders Capital Management grew its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 44.2% in the second quarter. Founders Capital Management now owns 979 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Steward Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 92.9% in the first quarter. Steward Financial Group LLC now owns 957 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 461 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 61.06% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Verizon Communications

In other Verizon Communications news, EVP Samantha Hammock sold 12,557 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.29, for a total value of $418,022.53. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.02% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

Shares of NYSE VZ opened at $33.54 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $140.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.71, a PEG ratio of 2.06 and a beta of 0.36. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52 week low of $31.25 and a 52 week high of $42.58. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $33.70 and its 200 day moving average price is $35.94. The company has a current ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.43.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 25th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.17 by $0.04. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 15.58% and a return on equity of 22.28%. The company had revenue of $32.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $33.30 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.31 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.73 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 10th will be issued a $0.665 dividend. This is a positive change from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.65. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 6th. This represents a $2.66 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.93%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 52.20%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on VZ shares. HSBC dropped their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $42.50 to $39.00 in a report on Monday, June 5th. Edward Jones cut shares of Verizon Communications from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, July 17th. StockNews.com cut shares of Verizon Communications from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 5th. Citigroup upgraded shares of Verizon Communications from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the company from $39.00 to $40.00 in a report on Tuesday, August 29th. Finally, Raymond James lowered their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $51.00 to $42.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 26th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $43.40.

Verizon Communications Company 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).