Brookstone Capital Management Has $17.84 Million Holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Brookstone Capital Management increased its position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 1.7% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 393,238 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after acquiring an additional 6,577 shares during the period. Brookstone Capital Management's holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $17,837,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of VZ. Brighton Jones LLC increased its stake in Verizon Communications by 61.2% during the 4th 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 period. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Verizon Communications by 11.2% during the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 74,370 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $2,974,000 after buying an additional 7,502 shares during the period. Proficio Capital Partners LLC increased its stake in Verizon Communications by 64.4% during the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 11,127 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $445,000 after buying an additional 4,360 shares during the period. Vision Financial Markets LLC acquired a new position in Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter valued at about $749,000. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,083,337,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.06% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Verizon Communications

In related news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 9,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.10, for a total value of $396,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 10,008 shares in the company, valued at approximately $441,352.80. The trade was a 47.35% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Over the last three months, insiders sold 21,500 shares of company stock valued at $938,400. Corporate insiders own 0.10% of the company's stock.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

Shares of Verizon Communications stock traded up $0.03 during trading on Friday, reaching $43.62. The company's stock had a trading volume of 10,301,320 shares, compared to its average volume of 20,121,261. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $43.23 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $42.28. The company has a current ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19. Verizon Communications Inc. has a one year low of $37.59 and a one year high of $47.36. The stock has a market capitalization of $183.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.23 and a beta of 0.37.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last released 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. The business had revenue of $33.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $33.31 billion. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.66% and a net margin of 13.14%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

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 issued a dividend of $0.6775 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 10th. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.21%. Verizon Communications's dividend payout ratio is currently 64.52%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VZ has been the topic of several recent research reports. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. Scotiabank raised their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $48.50 to $49.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Evercore ISI raised shares of Verizon Communications from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $48.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Verizon Communications from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. Finally, 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 research report on Tuesday, March 25th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $47.25.

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).