Providence Wealth Advisors LLC Sells 1,715 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Providence Wealth Advisors LLC reduced its position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 5.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 32,638 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 1,715 shares during the quarter. Providence Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $1,298,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Mainstream Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 69.6% in the fourth quarter. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 780 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 320 shares during the last quarter. Graney & King LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Compass Financial Services Inc purchased a new position in Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, Hager Investment Management Services LLC purchased a new position in Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $38,000. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

NYSE:VZ opened at $44.18 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $185.99 billion, a PE ratio of 10.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.41. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52 week low of $37.59 and a 52 week high of $47.36. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $41.85 and its 200-day moving average price is $42.05. The company has a quick ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.10 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.11 by ($0.01). Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.80% and a net margin of 12.99%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.08 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be given a dividend of $0.6775 per share. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.13%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is currently 65.46%.

Insider Activity at Verizon Communications

In other Verizon Communications news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 8,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.88, for a total value of $319,040.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 6,590 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $262,809.20. This represents a 54.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Vandana Venkatesh sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.79, for a total transaction of $437,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 14,459 shares in the company, valued at approximately $633,159.61. This trade represents a 40.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 49,085 shares of company stock worth $2,020,895 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.02% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently weighed in on VZ. Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on Verizon Communications in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $48.00 price objective for the company. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. DZ Bank raised Verizon Communications from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $40.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Scotiabank increased their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.50 to $48.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, Tigress Financial restated a “buy” rating and issued a $55.00 price objective on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $46.71.

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).