Sara Bay Financial Sells 1,661 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Sara Bay Financial lessened its holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 14.9% during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 9,458 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 1,661 shares during the period. Sara Bay Financial’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $425,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. NCM Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. NCM Capital Management LLC now owns 18,390 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $735,000 after purchasing an additional 245 shares during the last quarter. Kirtland Hills Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Kirtland Hills Capital Management LLC now owns 10,968 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $439,000 after purchasing an additional 252 shares during the last quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC lifted its stake in Verizon Communications by 9.9% in the fourth quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 2,915 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $117,000 after buying an additional 263 shares during the last quarter. Tower Wealth Partners Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Tower Wealth Partners Inc. now owns 10,483 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $419,000 after acquiring an additional 263 shares during the period. Finally, Campbell Wealth Management grew its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 4.8% during the fourth quarter. Campbell Wealth Management now owns 5,732 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $229,000 after acquiring an additional 265 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Stock Up 1.2%

VZ opened at $43.82 on Friday. Verizon Communications Inc. has a one year low of $37.59 and a one year high of $47.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a current ratio of 0.63. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $43.44 and its 200-day moving average is $42.28. The company has a market capitalization of $184.76 billion, a PE ratio of 10.58, a P/E/G ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.38.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.19 EPS 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 company had revenue of $33.50 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $33.31 billion. On average, equities analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 10th will be paid a $0.6775 dividend. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.18%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is presently 64.52%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VZ has been the topic of several recent research reports. Tigress Financial lifted their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $55.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $45.00 price target (up previously from $42.00) on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Tuesday, March 25th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Verizon Communications from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. Wolfe Research lowered Verizon Communications from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. Finally, Oppenheimer raised their target price on Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Verizon Communications has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $47.41.

Insider Transactions at Verizon Communications

In related news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 9,000 shares of Verizon Communications stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.10, for a total value of $396,900.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 10,008 shares in the company, valued at $441,352.80. The trade was a 47.35% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 21,500 shares of company stock valued at $938,400. Corporate insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

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).