Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC Has $6.39 Million Position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC trimmed its holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 1.7% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 140,847 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 2,387 shares during the quarter. Verizon Communications comprises 3.4% of Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 9th largest holding. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $6,389,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. BridgePort Financial Solutions LLC bought a new position in Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter worth approximately $381,000. Meyer Handelman Co. grew its holdings in Verizon Communications by 7.4% in the 1st quarter. Meyer Handelman Co. now owns 1,110,948 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $50,393,000 after buying an additional 76,083 shares in the last quarter. Axis Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,200,000. Rempart Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in Verizon Communications by 52.8% in the 1st quarter. Rempart Asset Management Inc. now owns 310,390 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $14,079,000 after buying an additional 107,200 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Treasurer of the State of North Carolina grew its holdings in Verizon Communications by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 2,075,431 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $82,996,000 after buying an additional 20,610 shares in the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have issued reports on VZ. Tigress Financial increased their price target on Verizon Communications from $55.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Wall Street Zen lowered Verizon Communications from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. Oppenheimer increased their price target on Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. Wolfe Research lowered Verizon Communications from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Finally, Scotiabank increased 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 issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $47.41.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 9,000 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, 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 Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:VZ opened at $42.32 on Friday. Verizon Communications Inc. has a one year low of $37.59 and a one year high of $47.36. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $43.15 and a 200-day moving average of $42.21. The company has a market capitalization of $178.41 billion, a PE ratio of 10.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.12 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a current ratio of 0.61.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.19 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.15 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $33.50 billion during 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 analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 10th. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.40%. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is currently 64.52%.

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).