Oliver Lagore Vanvalin Investment Group Sells 1,302 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Oliver Lagore Vanvalin Investment Group trimmed its stake in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 33.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 2,637 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 1,302 shares during the quarter. Oliver Lagore Vanvalin Investment Group’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $99,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. BCK Partners Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the 1st quarter worth $2,101,000. Axiom Financial Strategies LLC increased its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 8.9% in the first quarter. Axiom Financial Strategies LLC now owns 5,980 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $279,000 after buying an additional 487 shares during the period. Ergoteles LLC increased its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 174.0% in the first 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 boosted its position 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 purchasing an additional 113,032 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Western Trust Bank bought a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the 1st quarter valued at about $567,000. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

Shares of Verizon Communications stock opened at $40.12 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $168.68 billion, a PE ratio of 14.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.25 and a beta of 0.41. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52 week low of $30.14 and a 52 week high of $43.42. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $40.54 and a 200-day moving average price of $38.18. The company has a quick ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 23rd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.08 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.08. The company had revenue of $35.10 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.60 billion. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 20.71% and a net margin of 8.67%. Verizon Communications’s revenue was down .6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.19 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 10th will be given a dividend of $0.665 per share. This represents a $2.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.63%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 9th. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is 96.38%.

Insider Activity at Verizon Communications

In related news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 24,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.80, for a total transaction of $979,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 35,201 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,436,200.80. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.02% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently commented on VZ shares. Daiwa Capital Markets upgraded Verizon Communications from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their target price for the company from $36.00 to $47.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. Raymond James increased their price target 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 increased their price target on Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 25th. StockNews.com lowered Verizon Communications from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. Finally, Redburn Atlantic upgraded Verizon Communications from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $33.00 to $39.00 in a report on Friday, March 22nd. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $44.50.

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).