Sandbox Financial Partners LLC Sells 2,532 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Sandbox Financial Partners LLC trimmed its position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 14.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 15,037 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 2,532 shares during the period. Sandbox Financial Partners LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $567,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. CGC Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the 2nd quarter valued at about $32,000. HBC Financial Services PLLC lifted its position in Verizon Communications by 320.0% during the third quarter. HBC Financial Services PLLC now owns 1,050 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 800 shares during the last quarter. True Wealth Design LLC purchased a new position in Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter worth approximately $42,000. Financial Management Professionals Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 58.4% in the 4th quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. now owns 1,096 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 404 shares during the last quarter. Finally, RVW Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the 3rd quarter valued at $36,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 15,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.33, for a total value of $604,950.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 59,201 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,387,576.33. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.02% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:VZ opened at $41.96 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47. The company has a market cap of $176.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.37 and a beta of 0.40. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12 month low of $30.14 and a 12 month high of $43.21. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $40.57 and a 200-day moving average price of $37.34.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, January 23rd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.08. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 20.71% and a net margin of 8.67%. The firm had revenue of $35.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $34.60 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.19 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down .6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.61 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.34%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 9th. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is currently 96.38%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently commented on VZ. UBS Group increased their target price on Verizon Communications from $37.00 to $43.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $43.00 price objective on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Tuesday, December 19th. Raymond James boosted their target price on Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 30th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic raised shares of Verizon Communications from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their target price for the company from $33.00 to $39.00 in a report on Friday, March 22nd. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $43.86.

Verizon Communications Company Profile

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).