Whalerock Point Partners LLC Sells 9,400 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Whalerock Point Partners LLC trimmed its stake in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 22.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 33,182 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after selling 9,400 shares during the period. Whalerock Point Partners LLC's holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $1,327,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Mainstream Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 69.6% during the fourth 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. Graney & King LLC acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter worth approximately $32,000. Compass Financial Services Inc acquired a new position in Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, Hager Investment Management Services LLC acquired a new position in Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $38,000. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on VZ shares. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Argus upgraded shares of Verizon Communications to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. DZ Bank upgraded shares of Verizon Communications from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $40.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Verizon Communications from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, March 13th. Finally, TD Cowen upgraded shares of Verizon Communications to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Verizon Communications currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $47.41.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Vandana Venkatesh sold 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.79, for a total transaction of $437,900.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 14,459 shares in the company, valued at approximately $633,159.61. This represents a 40.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Kyle Malady sold 5,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.48, for a total value of $212,400.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 36,508 shares in the company, valued at $1,550,859.84. The trade was a 12.05 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 34,085 shares of company stock worth $1,422,495. Corporate insiders own 0.10% of the company's stock.

Verizon Communications Stock Up 1.1 %

Shares of Verizon Communications stock traded up $0.48 during trading on Monday, reaching $42.39. The stock had a trading volume of 16,173,046 shares, compared to its average volume of 20,142,941. The company has a market capitalization of $181.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.24, a P/E/G ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.41. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $43.65 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $41.95. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52 week low of $37.59 and a 52 week high of $47.36. The company has a current ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 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%. Sell-side analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be issued a $0.6775 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.39%. Verizon Communications's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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).