Triumph Capital Management Sells 37,966 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Triumph Capital Management trimmed its position in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 68.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 17,567 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 37,966 shares during the period. Triumph Capital Management’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $662,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of VZ. WealthTrust Axiom LLC increased 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 worth $4,479,000 after acquiring an additional 2,422 shares during the last quarter. Portland Investment Counsel Inc. raised its holdings in Verizon Communications by 173.7% during the 3rd 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 during the period. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC boosted 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 worth $5,131,000 after buying an additional 1,616 shares during the period. 180 Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in 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 acquiring an additional 3,020 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GFS Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter valued at $212,000. 62.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:VZ traded down $0.09 on Wednesday, hitting $39.40. 8,822,965 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 20,014,705. The company has a current ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $40.43 and its 200 day moving average price is $38.74. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1-year low of $30.14 and a 1-year high of $43.42. The firm has a market capitalization of $165.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 0.41.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.12 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $33 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $33.23 billion. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 20.41% and a net margin of 8.44%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.20 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.6 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.665 per share. 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 6.75%. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is currently 99.25%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on VZ shares. Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $48.00 price target on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $36.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Redburn Atlantic raised shares of Verizon Communications from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $33.00 to $39.00 in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. KeyCorp lifted their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Verizon Communications from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $44.21.

Insider Activity

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

Verizon Communications 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).