Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Shares Sold by New Covenant Trust Company N.A.

New Covenant Trust Company N.A. cut its position in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 14.9% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 5,488 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 959 shares during the quarter. New Covenant Trust Company N.A.’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $247,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. lifted its stake in Verizon Communications by 81.0% in the first quarter. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. now owns 543 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 243 shares during the last quarter. Cherry Tree Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 71.8% in the first quarter. Cherry Tree Wealth Management LLC now owns 584 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 244 shares during the period. Garde Capital Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the 1st quarter worth approximately $26,000. Mainstream Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Finally, Mattson Financial Services LLC boosted 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 acquiring an additional 415 shares in the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Verizon Communications

In other news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 9,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.10, for a total transaction of $396,900.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 10,008 shares in the company, valued at $441,352.80. This represents a 47.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders sold 21,500 shares of company stock worth $938,400 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

NYSE VZ opened at $42.35 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 0.61 and a quick ratio of 0.58. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $43.28 and a 200-day moving average price of $42.21. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1 year low of $37.59 and a 1 year high of $47.36. The firm has a market cap of $178.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.08, a PEG ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.38.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last announced its 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. The firm had revenue of $33.50 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $33.31 billion. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.66% and a net margin of 13.14%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 10th will be given a dividend of $0.6775 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 10th. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.40%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is presently 64.52%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Scotiabank increased their price target on Verizon Communications from $48.50 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued 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. Wolfe Research lowered Verizon Communications from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Evercore ISI raised shares of Verizon Communications from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $48.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Tigress Financial boosted their price objective on Verizon Communications from $55.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 28th. 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 MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $47.41.

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).