Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Shares Sold by Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp

Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp lowered its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 2.2% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 108,505 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 2,468 shares during the period. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $4,553,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,882,164,000. Capital World Investors raised its holdings in Verizon Communications by 127.6% during the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 21,801,067 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $821,900,000 after purchasing an additional 12,220,777 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its position in Verizon Communications by 92.9% in the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 22,599,173 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $851,989,000 after purchasing an additional 10,882,873 shares during the period. Third Point LLC acquired a new stake in Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter worth approximately $173,325,000. Finally, DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main boosted its stake in Verizon Communications by 419.8% during the 4th quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main now owns 5,141,257 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $193,825,000 after purchasing an additional 4,152,099 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

NYSE VZ traded up $0.44 during trading on Friday, hitting $41.26. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 27,637,458 shares, compared to its average volume of 18,928,629. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52 week low of $30.14 and a 52 week high of $43.42. The firm has a market cap of $173.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.42. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $40.07 and a 200 day moving average price of $40.02. The company has a quick ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.15 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 business had revenue of $33 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.23 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.20 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $40.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and set a $48.00 price objective on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $36.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Verizon Communications from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, May 4th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic upgraded shares of Verizon Communications from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $33.00 to $39.00 in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $44.77.

About Verizon Communications

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).