Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Shares Sold by Sentry Investment Management LLC

Sentry Investment Management LLC reduced its stake in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 23.0% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 13,357 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 3,990 shares during the quarter. Sentry Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $569,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 61.2% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 43,986 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $1,759,000 after purchasing an additional 16,704 shares during the period. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC increased its holdings in Verizon Communications by 10.8% in the fourth quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 34,326 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $1,337,000 after buying an additional 3,345 shares in the last quarter. SYM FINANCIAL Corp acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter worth about $266,000. Round Rock Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter worth about $213,000. Finally, McAdam LLC boosted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 4.5% during the 4th quarter. McAdam LLC now owns 19,642 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $785,000 after acquiring an additional 853 shares in the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on VZ shares. Evercore ISI upgraded Verizon Communications from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $48.00 price target for the company in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Wolfe Research cut Verizon Communications from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. Scotiabank increased their target price on Verizon Communications from $48.50 to $49.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $45.00 price target (up previously from $42.00) on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. Finally, Oppenheimer upped their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $47.41.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

NYSE VZ opened at $44.09 on Tuesday. 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 $43.57 and its two-hundred day moving average is $42.24. The firm has a market capitalization of $185.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.39. Verizon Communications Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $37.59 and a fifty-two week high of $47.36.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 9,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 7th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $441,352.80. This represents a 47.35% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 21,500 shares of company stock worth $938,400. Insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

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).