Generali Investments Management Co LLC Sells 1,213 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Generali Investments Management Co LLC trimmed its position in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 2.8% during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 42,413 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 1,213 shares during the quarter. Generali Investments Management Co LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $1,924,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Mainstream Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Mattson Financial Services LLC lifted its position in Verizon Communications by 114.6% during the 4th quarter. Mattson Financial Services LLC now owns 777 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 415 shares during the period. Graney & King LLC bought a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. Capital A Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, Compass Financial Services Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Verizon Communications news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.48, for a total value of $212,400.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 36,508 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,550,859.84. The trade was a 12.05% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders have sold a total of 21,500 shares of company stock worth $938,400 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VZ has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Scotiabank boosted their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $48.50 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $45.00 target price (up previously from $42.00) on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. Oppenheimer increased their price target on Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. Evercore ISI upgraded Verizon Communications from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $48.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Wolfe Research cut Verizon Communications from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $47.41.

Verizon Communications Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of Verizon Communications stock opened at $43.26 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $182.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 0.63 and a quick ratio of 0.59. The business has a 50-day moving average of $43.47 and a two-hundred day moving average of $42.27. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1 year low of $37.59 and a 1 year high of $47.36.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.19 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.15 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $33.50 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $33.31 billion. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 12.99% and a return on equity of 19.80%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current year.

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).