Aspen Wealth Strategies LLC Sells 316 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Aspen Wealth Strategies LLC reduced its stake in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 3.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 10,164 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 316 shares during the quarter. Aspen Wealth Strategies LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $383,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. BCK Partners Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the first quarter valued at $2,101,000. Axiom Financial Strategies LLC grew its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 8.9% in the first quarter. Axiom Financial Strategies LLC now owns 5,980 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $279,000 after purchasing an additional 487 shares in the last quarter. Ergoteles LLC boosted its stake in Verizon Communications by 174.0% during the first quarter. Ergoteles LLC now owns 91,776 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $4,675,000 after buying an additional 58,283 shares during the period. Mackenzie Financial Corp boosted its stake in Verizon Communications by 10.5% during the first quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 1,194,111 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $60,828,000 after buying an additional 113,032 shares during the period. Finally, First Western Trust Bank purchased a new position in Verizon Communications during the first quarter worth $567,000. 62.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Verizon Communications Stock Down 0.8 %

Verizon Communications stock traded down $0.34 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $39.78. The stock had a trading volume of 14,015,964 shares, compared to its average volume of 19,711,529. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52 week low of $30.14 and a 52 week high of $43.42. The company has a market cap of $167.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.38, a PEG ratio of 3.24 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47, a current ratio of 0.69 and a quick ratio of 0.65. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $40.58 and its 200-day moving average price is $38.10.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, January 23rd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.08 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.08. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 8.67% and a return on equity of 20.71%. The company had revenue of $35.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $34.60 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.19 earnings per share. Verizon Communications’s revenue for the quarter was down .6% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.58 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 10th will be paid a $0.665 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 9th. This represents a $2.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.69%. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is currently 96.38%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $48.00 price objective on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. StockNews.com lowered shares of Verizon Communications from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 31st. Wolfe Research raised shares of Verizon Communications from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $46.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 4th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $40.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. Finally, Barclays lifted their target price on Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 26th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $44.50.

Insider Transactions at Verizon Communications

In other Verizon Communications news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 24,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.80, for a total transaction of $979,200.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 35,201 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,436,200.80. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

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).