AFG Fiduciary Services Limited Partnership Sells 576 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

AFG Fiduciary Services Limited Partnership cut its position in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 9.8% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 5,275 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 576 shares during the period. AFG Fiduciary Services Limited Partnership’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $226,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Mainstream Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Mattson Financial Services LLC increased its position in Verizon Communications by 114.6% in the fourth quarter. Mattson Financial Services LLC now owns 777 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 415 shares in the last quarter. Graney & King LLC purchased a new stake in Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Capital A Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, Compass Financial Services Inc bought a new stake in Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $33,000. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

VZ opened at $43.26 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $43.47 and its two-hundred day moving average is $42.27. 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. The firm has a market capitalization of $182.41 billion, a PE ratio of 10.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.39.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.19 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.15 by $0.04. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.80% and a net margin of 12.99%. The business had revenue of $33.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.31 billion. Research analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Verizon Communications

In related news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 7,500 shares of Verizon Communications stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.88, for a total transaction of $329,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 19,008 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $834,071.04. The trade was a 28.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 21,500 shares of company stock worth $938,400. Insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have weighed in on VZ. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $45.00 price target (up previously from $42.00) on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. Wolfe Research cut Verizon Communications from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. Tigress Financial lifted their target price on Verizon Communications from $55.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Verizon Communications from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. Finally, Scotiabank raised their price target on Verizon Communications from $48.50 to $49.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Nine investment 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 has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $47.41.

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).