Ballentine Partners LLC raised its position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 15.8% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 73,551 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after purchasing an additional 10,046 shares during the period. Ballentine Partners LLC's holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $3,336,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.
Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. lifted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 81.0% in the 1st quarter. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. now owns 543 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 243 shares during the period. Cherry Tree Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 71.8% during the 1st quarter. Cherry Tree Wealth Management LLC now owns 584 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 244 shares during the period. Garde Capital Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the 1st quarter valued at $26,000. Mattson Financial Services LLC lifted its position 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 valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 415 shares during the period. Finally, Graney & King LLC acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.06% of the company's stock.
Analyst Ratings Changes
A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Verizon Communications from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $48.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Thursday. They set an "equal weight" rating and a $47.00 target price on the stock. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. Arete Research upgraded shares of Verizon Communications to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada restated a "sector perform" rating and set a $45.00 price target (up previously from $42.00) on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Tuesday, March 25th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $47.00.
Read Our Latest Stock Report on VZ
Insider Buying and Selling at Verizon Communications
In related news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 9,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.10, for a total value of $396,900.00. Following 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 21,500 shares of company stock valued at $938,400. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.
Verizon Communications Stock Performance
NYSE VZ opened at $41.63 on Friday. 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 1.19, a current ratio of 0.61 and a quick ratio of 0.58. The firm has a market cap of $175.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.91, a PEG ratio of 3.37 and a beta of 0.37. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $43.14 and a 200-day moving average price of $42.36.
Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.19 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.15 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $33.50 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $33.31 billion. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 13.14% and a return on equity of 19.66%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement
The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, July 10th will be issued a $0.6775 dividend. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.51%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 10th. Verizon Communications's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 64.52%.
Verizon Communications Company Profile
(
Free Report)
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).
Further Reading

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.
Before you consider Verizon Communications, you'll want to hear this.
MarketBeat keeps track of Wall Street's top-rated and best performing research analysts and the stocks they recommend to their clients on a daily basis. MarketBeat has identified the five stocks that top analysts are quietly whispering to their clients to buy now before the broader market catches on... and Verizon Communications wasn't on the list.
While Verizon Communications currently has a Moderate Buy rating among analysts, top-rated analysts believe these five stocks are better buys.
View The Five Stocks Here
Explore Elon Musk’s boldest ventures yet—from AI and autonomy to space colonization—and find out how investors can ride the next wave of innovation.
Get This Free Report
Like this article? Share it with a colleague.
Link copied to clipboard.