Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Shares Sold by Orion Capital Management LLC

Orion Capital Management LLC lowered its position in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 11.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,792 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 1,000 shares during the quarter. Orion Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $294,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. WealthTrust Axiom LLC raised its stake in 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 in the last quarter. Portland Investment Counsel Inc. raised its stake in Verizon Communications by 173.7% during the third quarter. Portland Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 652,169 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $21,137,000 after buying an additional 413,869 shares in the last quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC raised its stake in 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 in the last quarter. 180 Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 6.2% during the third quarter. 180 Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 51,757 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $1,677,000 after purchasing an additional 3,020 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GFS Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $212,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Verizon Communications

In related news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 24,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.80, for a total value of $979,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 35,201 shares in the company, valued at $1,436,200.80. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.03% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

NYSE VZ traded down $0.14 on Wednesday, reaching $39.35. 11,752,899 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 20,046,158. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $40.43 and its 200 day simple moving average is $38.74. 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 market cap of $165.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.77, a P/E/G ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 0.41. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12 month low of $30.14 and a 12 month high of $43.42.

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. The company had revenue of $33 billion during 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 quarterly revenue was up .3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.20 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 10th will be paid a $0.665 dividend. This represents a $2.66 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.76%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 9th. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is presently 99.25%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently commented on VZ. StockNews.com raised Verizon Communications from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price 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. Wolfe Research raised Verizon Communications from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $46.00 target price for the company in a report on Thursday, January 4th. Barclays increased their price objective on Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, January 26th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on Verizon Communications from $36.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $44.21.

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).