ARS Wealth Advisors Group LLC Increases Stock Holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

ARS Wealth Advisors Group LLC lifted its stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 3.7% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 400,807 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after purchasing an additional 14,140 shares during the quarter. Verizon Communications comprises 2.6% of ARS Wealth Advisors Group LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 15th biggest holding. ARS Wealth Advisors Group LLC's holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $18,181,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Mainstream Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Mattson Financial Services LLC lifted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 114.6% during the 4th quarter. Mattson Financial Services LLC now owns 777 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 415 shares during the last quarter. Graney & King LLC bought a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. Capital A Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, Compass Financial Services Inc bought a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. 62.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 5,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.48, for a total transaction of $212,400.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 36,508 shares in the company, valued at $1,550,859.84. The trade was a 12.05% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Insiders have sold a total of 21,500 shares of company stock worth $938,400 in the last ninety days. 0.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Verizon Communications Trading Up 1.2%

Shares of NYSE:VZ opened at $43.82 on Friday. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12-month low of $37.59 and a 12-month high of $47.36. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $43.44 and its 200-day simple moving average is $42.28. The company has a market capitalization of $184.76 billion, a PE ratio of 10.58, a P/E/G ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a current ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly 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 business had revenue of $33.50 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, July 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.6775 per share. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.18%. Verizon Communications's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 64.52%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Scotiabank raised 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. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a "sector perform" rating and set a $45.00 price target (up from $42.00) on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Tuesday, March 25th. Wall Street Zen lowered Verizon Communications from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. Wolfe Research lowered Verizon Communications from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised Verizon Communications from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $48.00 target price for the company in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $47.41.

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).

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