Amalgamated Bank Has $38.17 Million Stock Holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Amalgamated Bank grew its position in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 0.9% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 841,375 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after buying an additional 7,793 shares during the quarter. Amalgamated Bank's holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $38,165,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in VZ. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 61.2% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 43,986 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $1,759,000 after purchasing an additional 16,704 shares during the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 6,475.6% during the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 444,969 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $17,794,000 after acquiring an additional 438,202 shares during the period. Versor Investments LP bought a new position in Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter valued at about $576,000. SVB Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $3,457,000. Finally, WR Wealth Planners LLC raised its position in Verizon Communications by 9.6% in the 4th quarter. WR Wealth Planners LLC now owns 3,507 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $140,000 after purchasing an additional 308 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 62.06% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on VZ shares. Tigress Financial raised their target price on Verizon Communications from $55.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating and set a $45.00 price objective (up previously from $42.00) on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. Wolfe Research cut Verizon Communications from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. Finally, Scotiabank boosted their price objective on Verizon Communications from $48.50 to $49.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Verizon Communications currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $47.25.

Verizon Communications Trading Up 0.1%

VZ stock traded up $0.03 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $43.62. 10,301,320 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 22,266,002. Verizon Communications Inc. has a one year low of $37.58 and a one year high of $47.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a current ratio of 0.61. The company has a market cap of $183.91 billion, a PE ratio of 10.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.24 and a beta of 0.37. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $43.18 and its 200-day moving average price is $42.24.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.19 earnings per share 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 business had revenue of $33.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $33.31 billion. Research analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 10th will be paid a $0.6775 dividend. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.21%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 10th. Verizon Communications's payout ratio is currently 64.52%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Verizon Communications

In related news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 9,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.10, for a total transaction of $396,900.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 10,008 shares in the company, valued at $441,352.80. This trade represents a 47.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders have sold a total of 21,500 shares of company stock valued at $938,400 in the last ninety days. 0.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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).