Boomfish Wealth Group LLC Has $785,000 Stock Holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Boomfish Wealth Group LLC reduced its stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 32.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 19,637 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after selling 9,378 shares during the quarter. Boomfish Wealth Group LLC's holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $785,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Fermata Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 4.5% during the third quarter. Fermata Advisors LLC now owns 5,626 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $253,000 after purchasing an additional 243 shares during the last quarter. Austin Private Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 3.0% during the third quarter. Austin Private Wealth LLC now owns 8,450 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $379,000 after purchasing an additional 243 shares during the last quarter. Cary Street Partners Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 3.4% during the third quarter. Cary Street Partners Asset Management LLC now owns 7,628 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $343,000 after purchasing an additional 249 shares during the last quarter. Wynn Capital LLC boosted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 4.4% during the third quarter. Wynn Capital LLC now owns 5,945 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $267,000 after purchasing an additional 250 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Western Financial Corp CA boosted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 1.5% during the third quarter. Western Financial Corp CA now owns 17,491 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $786,000 after purchasing an additional 250 shares during the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. DZ Bank upgraded shares of Verizon Communications from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $40.00 target price for the company in a report on Wednesday. Argus upgraded shares of Verizon Communications to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. They issued a "market perform" rating and a $48.00 price target for the company. Finally, Wolfe Research increased their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $51.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $46.08.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

NYSE:VZ traded down $0.02 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $39.46. 12,264,204 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 24,907,656. Verizon Communications Inc. has a one year low of $37.58 and a one year high of $45.36. The firm has a market capitalization of $166.09 billion, a PE ratio of 9.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.21 and a beta of 0.46. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $40.69 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $41.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a current ratio of 0.63.

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

Verizon Communications Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 10th will be issued a $0.6775 dividend. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.87%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 10th. Verizon Communications's dividend payout ratio is currently 65.46%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Verizon Communications

In other Verizon Communications news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 11,085 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.88, for a total value of $453,154.80. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 14,590 shares of the company's stock, valued at $596,439.20. This trade represents a 43.17 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.02% 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).