Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Shares Sold by Marcum Wealth LLC

Marcum Wealth LLC lowered its position in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 3.1% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 26,044 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 843 shares during the quarter. Marcum Wealth LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $1,181,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Mainstream Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Mattson Financial Services LLC raised its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 114.6% during the 4th quarter. Mattson Financial Services LLC now owns 777 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 415 shares during the period. Graney & King LLC acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Capital A Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, Compass Financial Services Inc acquired a new position in Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter worth $33,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on VZ shares. Wall Street Zen lowered Verizon Communications from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. Tigress Financial raised their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $55.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 28th. DZ Bank upgraded shares of Verizon Communications from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $40.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Evercore ISI raised shares of Verizon Communications from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $48.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $45.00 price target (up from $42.00) on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Tuesday, March 25th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $47.41.

Insider Transactions at Verizon Communications

In other news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 9,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.10, for a total transaction of $396,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 10,008 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $441,352.80. This trade represents a 47.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders sold 21,500 shares of company stock valued at $938,400 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Stock Down 0.8%

Verizon Communications stock opened at $43.17 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $182.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.43, a PEG ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a current ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $43.57 and a two-hundred day moving average of $42.17. Verizon Communications Inc. has a twelve month low of $37.59 and a twelve month high of $47.36.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.15 by $0.04. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.80% and a net margin of 12.99%. The company had revenue of $33.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $33.31 billion. As a group, research analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 10th were issued a dividend of $0.6775 per share. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.28%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 10th. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is currently 64.52%.

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).