Burney Co. Purchases 35,527 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Burney Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 19.0% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 222,148 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after purchasing an additional 35,527 shares during the period. Burney Co.'s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $10,077,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. boosted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 81.0% in the first quarter. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. now owns 543 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 243 shares during the last quarter. Garde Capital Inc. bought a new position in Verizon Communications in the first quarter valued at about $26,000. Cherry Tree Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 71.8% in the first 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 last quarter. EQ Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Verizon Communications in the first quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, Mattson Financial Services LLC boosted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 114.6% in the fourth 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 last quarter. Institutional investors own 62.06% of the company's stock.

Verizon Communications Stock Up 0.7%

Shares of NYSE:VZ traded up $0.30 during trading on Thursday, hitting $43.14. 20,387,764 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 22,221,457. The stock has a market cap of $181.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.06, a P/E/G ratio of 3.44 and a beta of 0.37. Verizon Communications Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $37.58 and a fifty-two week high of $47.35. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $42.88 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $42.46. The company has a current ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 21st. The cell phone carrier reported $1.22 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.19 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $34.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.47 billion. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.61% and a net margin of 13.28%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.15 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate 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. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 10th will be paid 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 dividend yield of 6.28%. Verizon Communications's dividend payout ratio is currently 64.52%.

Insider Activity at Verizon Communications

In other news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 9,000 shares of Verizon Communications stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.10, for a total transaction 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 legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.10% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Bank of America raised their price target on Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their target price on Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Tuesday. Oppenheimer raised their target price on Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $47.35.

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).