Alpha Omega Wealth Management LLC Cuts Holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Alpha Omega Wealth Management LLC lessened its stake in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 5.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 237,832 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 14,753 shares during the quarter. Verizon Communications comprises 1.5% of Alpha Omega Wealth Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 10th biggest holding. Alpha Omega Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $8,966,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in VZ. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA boosted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 627.8% during the 4th quarter. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA now owns 655 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 565 shares in the last quarter. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC raised its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 130.1% in the 4th quarter. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC now owns 863 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 488 shares during the last quarter. HBC Financial Services PLLC raised its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 320.0% in the 3rd quarter. HBC Financial Services PLLC now owns 1,050 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 800 shares during the last quarter. RVW Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the 3rd quarter worth about $36,000. Finally, Financial Management Professionals Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 58.4% in the 4th quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. now owns 1,096 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 404 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Verizon Communications

In other news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 24,000 shares of Verizon Communications stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.80, for a total transaction of $979,200.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 35,201 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,436,200.80. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Trading Down 0.8 %

NYSE:VZ traded down $0.34 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $39.77. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 14,016,776 shares, compared to its average volume of 16,262,630. The firm has a market capitalization of $167.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.41, a PEG ratio of 3.27 and a beta of 0.41. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $40.55 and a 200-day simple moving average of $38.16. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1 year low of $30.14 and a 1 year high of $43.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a current ratio of 0.69.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last issued its earnings results 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 net margin of 8.67% and a return on equity of 20.71%. The company had revenue of $35.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $34.60 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.19 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down .6% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 10th will be given a $0.665 dividend. This represents a $2.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.69%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 9th. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is 96.38%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Daiwa Capital Markets upgraded shares of Verizon Communications from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $36.00 to $47.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 30th. Raymond James raised their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and set a $48.00 price target on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Finally, UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $37.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $44.50.

About Verizon Communications

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).