Ashton Thomas Securities LLC Sells 9,032 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Ashton Thomas Securities LLC reduced its position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 60.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 5,799 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after selling 9,032 shares during the quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC's holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $237,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Mainstream Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 69.6% in the 4th quarter. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 780 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 320 shares in the last quarter. Compass Financial Services Inc acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter valued at about $33,000. Hager Investment Management Services LLC acquired a new position in Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Finally, Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC raised its stake in Verizon Communications by 655.5% in the 4th quarter. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 967 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 839 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 62.06% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Scotiabank lifted their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.50 to $48.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. StockNews.com lowered shares of Verizon Communications from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on Verizon Communications in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. They issued a "market perform" rating and a $48.00 price objective for the company. Wolfe Research lowered shares of Verizon Communications from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $46.71.

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Insider Activity at Verizon Communications

In other news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 20,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, January 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.54, for a total transaction of $810,800.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 45,675 shares in the company, valued at $1,851,664.50. The trade was a 30.45 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Vandana Venkatesh sold 10,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.79, for a total value of $437,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 14,459 shares in the company, valued at $633,159.61. This trade represents a 40.88 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 49,085 shares of company stock worth $2,020,895 in the last quarter. 0.02% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

NYSE:VZ traded up $0.07 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $45.03. 9,344,557 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 19,471,873. The firm has a market capitalization of $189.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $41.98 and a 200 day moving average price of $42.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 0.63 and a quick ratio of 0.59. Verizon Communications Inc. has a twelve month low of $37.59 and a twelve month high of $47.36.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.11 by ($0.01). Verizon Communications had a net margin of 12.99% and a return on equity of 19.80%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.08 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be given a dividend of $0.6775 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.02%. Verizon Communications's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 65.46%.

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).