48,427 Shares in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Purchased by Cornerstone Select Advisors LLC

Cornerstone Select Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 48,427 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock, valued at approximately $1,937,000. Verizon Communications makes up 1.9% of Cornerstone Select Advisors LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 10th biggest position.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Mainstream Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Verizon Communications by 69.6% during the fourth quarter. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 780 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 320 shares in the last quarter. Graney & King LLC acquired a new stake in Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Compass Financial Services Inc acquired a new stake in Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, Banque Transatlantique SA acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter worth approximately $35,000. 62.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Verizon Communications news, EVP Vandana Venkatesh sold 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.79, for a total transaction of $437,900.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 14,459 shares in the company, valued at $633,159.61. This represents a 40.88 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Kyle Malady sold 5,000 shares of Verizon Communications stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.48, for a total value of $212,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 36,508 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,550,859.84. The trade was a 12.05 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 22,500 shares of company stock worth $979,400 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.10% of the company's stock.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

Shares of VZ opened at $44.20 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $43.71 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $41.96. The stock has a market cap of $186.38 billion, a PE ratio of 10.68, a P/E/G ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.39. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1-year low of $37.59 and a 1-year high of $47.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 0.63 and a quick ratio of 0.59.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.15 by $0.04. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.80% and a net margin of 12.99%. The company had revenue of $33.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.31 billion. As a group, analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, April 10th were issued a dividend of $0.6775 per share. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.13%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 10th. Verizon Communications's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 64.52%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on VZ shares. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. StockNews.com cut shares of Verizon Communications from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. Argus raised shares of Verizon Communications to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Wolfe Research lowered Verizon Communications from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Finally, TD Cowen upgraded Verizon Communications to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $47.41.

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).

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