GoalVest Advisory LLC Sells 437 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

GoalVest Advisory LLC lessened its holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 38.7% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 693 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 437 shares during the period. GoalVest Advisory LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $29,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Taylor Hoffman Wealth Management raised its stake in Verizon Communications by 32.9% during the 4th quarter. Taylor Hoffman Wealth Management now owns 9,353 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $353,000 after acquiring an additional 2,314 shares during the period. Leo Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter worth approximately $3,346,000. WealthTrust Axiom LLC raised its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. WealthTrust Axiom LLC now owns 118,806 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $4,479,000 after buying an additional 2,422 shares during the last quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC raised its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 127,632 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $5,131,000 after buying an additional 1,616 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GFS Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $212,000. Institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Stock Down 0.1 %

NYSE VZ opened at $41.02 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42. The company has a fifty day moving average of $40.02 and a two-hundred day moving average of $39.98. The firm has a market capitalization of $172.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.31, a PEG ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 0.42. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52 week low of $30.14 and a 52 week high of $43.42.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.15 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.12 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $33 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.23 billion. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 8.44% and a return on equity of 20.41%. Verizon Communications’s quarterly revenue was up .3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.20 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.59 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.665 per share. This represents a $2.66 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.48%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 10th. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is 99.25%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $36.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Verizon Communications from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 4th. Redburn Atlantic upgraded shares of Verizon Communications from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $33.00 to $39.00 in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. Tigress Financial lifted their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 17th. Finally, Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $48.00 price objective on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $44.77.

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).