Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Shares Sold by Next Level Private LLC

Next Level Private LLC lessened its stake in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 9.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 15,170 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 1,674 shares during the quarter. Next Level Private LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $572,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. BCK Partners Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the 1st quarter worth $2,101,000. Axiom Financial Strategies LLC lifted its position in Verizon Communications by 8.9% during the first quarter. Axiom Financial Strategies LLC now owns 5,980 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $279,000 after buying an additional 487 shares during the period. Ergoteles LLC grew its holdings in Verizon Communications by 174.0% in the 1st quarter. Ergoteles LLC now owns 91,776 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $4,675,000 after buying an additional 58,283 shares during the period. Mackenzie Financial Corp increased its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 10.5% during the 1st quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 1,194,111 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $60,828,000 after acquiring an additional 113,032 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Western Trust Bank purchased a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the 1st quarter worth about $567,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

Shares of VZ stock opened at $41.96 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47. The business has a 50 day moving average of $40.52 and a two-hundred day moving average of $37.31. The company has a market cap of $176.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.05, a PEG ratio of 3.31 and a beta of 0.40. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52 week low of $30.14 and a 52 week high of $43.21.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 23rd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.08 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.08. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 20.71% and a net margin of 8.67%. The firm had revenue of $35.10 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.60 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.19 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down .6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.61 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 10th will be paid a $0.665 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 9th. This represents a $2.66 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.34%. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is currently 96.38%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 24,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.80, for a total value of $979,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 35,201 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,436,200.80. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.02% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently commented on VZ shares. Raymond James upped their price objective on Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. Tigress Financial lifted their price objective on Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 25th. Daiwa Capital Markets raised shares of Verizon Communications from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $36.00 to $47.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 26th. Finally, Wolfe Research raised shares of Verizon Communications from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $46.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 4th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $43.86.

Verizon Communications Company Profile

Verizon Communications Inc, through its subsidiaries, engages in the provision of 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).