Oak Asset Management LLC Sells 912 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Oak Asset Management LLC lowered its stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 1.4% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 63,005 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 912 shares during the quarter. Oak Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $2,644,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in VZ. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA raised its position in Verizon Communications by 627.8% in the 4th quarter. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA now owns 655 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 565 shares during the last quarter. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC acquired a new stake in Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC boosted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 130.1% during the 4th quarter. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC now owns 863 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 488 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vima LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter valued at about $36,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have weighed in on VZ shares. Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $48.00 price target on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Tuesday, April 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Monday. They set a “buy” rating and a $50.00 price target on the stock. Redburn Atlantic raised 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. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $40.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 23rd. Finally, StockNews.com raised Verizon Communications from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 4th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $45.14.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

VZ opened at $41.24 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a current ratio of 0.71 and a quick ratio of 0.67. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $40.07 and a 200 day simple moving average of $40.06. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1 year low of $30.14 and a 1 year high of $43.42. The company has a market capitalization of $173.59 billion, a PE ratio of 15.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.75 and a beta of 0.41.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last announced its earnings results on Monday, April 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.12 by $0.03. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 8.44% and a return on equity of 20.41%. The company had revenue of $33 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $33.23 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.20 earnings per share. Verizon Communications’s quarterly revenue was up .3% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.59 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.665 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 10th. This represents a $2.66 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.45%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is presently 99.25%.

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).