Bangor Savings Bank Decreases Stock Holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Bangor Savings Bank cut its stake in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 6.2% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 74,284 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 4,905 shares during the period. Bangor Savings Bank’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $3,370,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

Shares of Verizon Communications stock opened at $43.82 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $184.76 billion, a PE ratio of 10.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a quick ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52 week low of $37.59 and a 52 week high of $47.36. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $43.44 and its 200-day simple moving average is $42.28.

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

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently commented on VZ shares. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. Tigress Financial increased their target price 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. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Verizon Communications from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. Scotiabank boosted their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $48.50 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Wolfe Research downgraded shares of Verizon Communications from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $47.41.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 7,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.88, for a total value of $329,100.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 19,008 shares in the company, valued at approximately $834,071.04. The trade was a 28.29% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In the last quarter, insiders sold 21,500 shares of company stock valued at $938,400. Company insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

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).