Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Position Boosted by 49 Wealth Management LLC

49 Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 196.4% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 17,430 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after purchasing an additional 11,549 shares during the quarter. 49 Wealth Management LLC's holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $791,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 363,824,525 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $14,549,343,000 after buying an additional 5,697,337 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 96,823,092 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $3,862,441,000 after purchasing an additional 998,847 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter worth $2,300,846,000. Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in Verizon Communications by 12.4% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 45,043,310 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $1,801,282,000 after acquiring an additional 4,951,733 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 13.3% in the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 38,893,487 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $1,555,351,000 after purchasing an additional 4,568,518 shares in the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

Shares of VZ stock traded up $0.26 on Tuesday, hitting $43.06. The company had a trading volume of 16,723,496 shares, compared to its average volume of 20,125,634. The firm has a market cap of $181.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.23 and a beta of 0.37. Verizon Communications Inc. has a twelve month low of $37.59 and a twelve month high of $47.36. The company has a quick ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 0.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $43.24 and a 200-day moving average price of $42.33.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.15 by $0.04. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.66% and a net margin of 13.14%. The company had revenue of $33.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $33.31 billion. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 10th will be given a dividend of $0.6775 per share. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.29%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 10th. Verizon Communications's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 64.52%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Verizon Communications

In related news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 9,000 shares of Verizon Communications stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.10, for a total transaction of $396,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 10,008 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $441,352.80. The trade was a 47.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In the last quarter, insiders sold 21,500 shares of company stock valued at $938,400. Company insiders own 0.10% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently commented on the company. Tigress Financial upped their target price on Verizon Communications from $55.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, April 28th. Scotiabank increased their price target on Verizon Communications from $48.50 to $49.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Oppenheimer raised their target price on Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated a "sector perform" rating and set a $45.00 price target (up from $42.00) on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Tuesday, March 25th. Finally, Bank of America initiated coverage on Verizon Communications in a research note on Monday. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $45.00 price target on the stock. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have issued 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 $47.25.

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).