Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Shares Sold by First National Bank of Mount Dora Trust Investment Services

First National Bank of Mount Dora Trust Investment Services lessened its holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 48.4% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 21,353 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 20,031 shares during the period. First National Bank of Mount Dora Trust Investment Services’ holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $969,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of VZ. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 61.2% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 43,986 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,759,000 after purchasing an additional 16,704 shares during the period. WCM Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 149.6% during the fourth quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC now owns 125,099 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $4,954,000 after purchasing an additional 74,974 shares during the period. Howland Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 8.1% during the fourth quarter. Howland Capital Management LLC now owns 11,735 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $469,000 after purchasing an additional 877 shares during the period. Angeles Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 20.1% in the fourth quarter. Angeles Wealth Management LLC now owns 7,797 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $312,000 after acquiring an additional 1,304 shares during the period. Finally, MBA Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 5.9% in the fourth quarter. MBA Advisors LLC now owns 15,781 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $631,000 after acquiring an additional 873 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.48, for a total transaction of $212,400.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 36,508 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,550,859.84. This represents a 12.05% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders have sold a total of 21,500 shares of company stock valued at $938,400 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Stock Down 0.3%

Shares of VZ opened at $43.66 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 has a 50 day moving average price of $43.42 and a 200 day moving average price of $42.28. The stock has a market capitalization of $184.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.55, a PEG ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.38. Verizon Communications Inc. has a one year low of $37.59 and a one year high of $47.36.

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

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.21%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 10th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 64.52%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have issued reports on VZ. Evercore ISI raised Verizon Communications from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $48.00 price target for the company in a report on Friday, April 11th. Wolfe Research downgraded Verizon Communications from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Scotiabank boosted their price target on Verizon Communications from $48.50 to $49.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $45.00 price target (up from $42.00) on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. 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, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $47.41.

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).