SevenBridge Financial Group LLC Trims Position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

SevenBridge Financial Group LLC decreased its position in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 14.3% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 43,187 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 7,189 shares during the period. SevenBridge Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $1,749,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Mainstream Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. grew its stake in Verizon Communications by 69.6% during the fourth quarter. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 780 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 320 shares in the last quarter. Graney & King LLC bought a new stake in Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Compass Financial Services Inc purchased a new stake in Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter worth $33,000. Finally, Hager Investment Management Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter valued at about $38,000. Institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Verizon Communications

In related news, EVP Vandana Venkatesh sold 10,000 shares of Verizon Communications stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.79, for a total value of $437,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,459 shares in the company, valued at $633,159.61. The trade was a 40.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Kyle Malady sold 8,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.88, for a total transaction of $319,040.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 6,590 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $262,809.20. This trade represents a 54.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 49,085 shares of company stock worth $2,020,895 in the last 90 days. 0.03% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VZ has been the topic of several research reports. StockNews.com cut Verizon Communications from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 13th. Wolfe Research downgraded Verizon Communications from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on Verizon Communications from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Argus raised shares of Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Scotiabank upped their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.50 to $48.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $46.82.

Verizon Communications Stock Up 0.0 %

Shares of NYSE:VZ opened at $45.38 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $191.02 billion, a PE ratio of 10.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.41. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $42.36 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $42.08. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1 year low of $37.59 and a 1 year high of $47.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 0.63 and a quick ratio of 0.59.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 24th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.11 by ($0.01). Verizon Communications had a net margin of 12.99% and a return on equity of 19.80%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.08 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, April 10th will be paid a $0.6775 dividend. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.97%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is presently 65.46%.

Verizon Communications 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).