8,150 Shares in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Purchased by JBR Co Financial Management Inc

JBR Co Financial Management Inc purchased a new stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 8,150 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock, valued at approximately $370,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 61.2% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 43,986 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $1,759,000 after buying an additional 16,704 shares during the last quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC bought a new stake in Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter valued at $501,000. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in Verizon Communications by 3.5% in the 4th quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 18,072 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $723,000 after acquiring an additional 609 shares during the period. Sierra Ocean LLC acquired a new stake in Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter valued at $54,000. Finally, Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC boosted its position in Verizon Communications by 151.1% during the fourth quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC now owns 11,454 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $458,000 after purchasing an additional 6,893 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.06% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on VZ shares. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued a "sector perform" rating and issued a $45.00 price objective (up from $42.00) on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Tuesday, March 25th. Scotiabank increased their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $48.50 to $49.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Evercore ISI upgraded Verizon Communications from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $48.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut Verizon Communications from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, March 13th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $47.41.

Verizon Communications Stock Down 1.5%

Shares of NYSE VZ opened at $41.85 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $176.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.97, a PEG ratio of 3.15 and a beta of 0.38. The stock's fifty day moving average is $43.42 and its 200 day moving average is $42.25. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52 week low of $37.59 and a 52 week high of $47.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a current ratio of 0.61.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.19 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.15 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $33.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.31 billion. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 13.14% and a return on equity of 19.66%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 10th. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.48%. Verizon Communications's dividend payout ratio is currently 64.52%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 9,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.10, for a total value of $396,900.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 10,008 shares in the company, valued at approximately $441,352.80. This trade represents a 47.35% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders sold 21,500 shares of company stock worth $938,400 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.10% of the company's stock.

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).

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding VZ? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.