Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Shares Sold by Ridgecrest Wealth Partners LLC

Ridgecrest Wealth Partners LLC lessened its holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 2.1% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 22,789 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 477 shares during the quarter. Ridgecrest Wealth Partners LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $956,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Chemung Canal Trust Co. lifted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 14.8% during the 1st quarter. Chemung Canal Trust Co. now owns 21,743 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $912,000 after buying an additional 2,796 shares during the last quarter. Alpha Omega Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Verizon Communications by 5.3% during the 1st quarter. Alpha Omega Wealth Management LLC now owns 250,483 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $10,510,000 after acquiring an additional 12,651 shares in the last quarter. First Bank & Trust lifted its position in Verizon Communications by 7.6% in the first quarter. First Bank & Trust now owns 110,571 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $4,640,000 after acquiring an additional 7,824 shares during the last quarter. Meridian Financial Partners LLC lifted its position in Verizon Communications by 3.7% in the first quarter. Meridian Financial Partners LLC now owns 32,526 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $1,294,000 after acquiring an additional 1,166 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Grimes & Company Inc. boosted its stake in Verizon Communications by 3.4% in the first quarter. Grimes & Company Inc. now owns 255,942 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $10,739,000 after acquiring an additional 8,512 shares in the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently commented on VZ shares. Redburn Atlantic upgraded Verizon Communications from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $33.00 to $39.00 in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on 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. Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and set a $48.00 target price on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target 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. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Verizon Communications from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 4th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $44.77.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

Shares of VZ opened at $41.24 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $40.07 and its two-hundred day moving average is $40.04. Verizon Communications Inc. has a twelve month low of $30.14 and a twelve month high of $43.42. The firm has a market capitalization of $173.59 billion, a PE ratio of 15.39, a P/E/G ratio of 3.75 and a beta of 0.42.

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

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

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

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).