Caliber Wealth Management LLC KS Takes $3.40 Million Position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Key Points

• Caliber Wealth Management LLC KS has acquired a new position in Verizon Communications, purchasing 74,847 shares valued at approximately $3,395,000.
• Verizon's recent earnings report showed an EPS of $1.22, exceeding estimates, with quarterly revenue reaching $34.50 billion, which is a 5.2% increase year-over-year.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.6775 per share, translating to an annualized yield of 6.28%.

Caliber Wealth Management LLC KS bought a new position in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 74,847 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock, valued at approximately $3,395,000.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Denver PWM LLC acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the first quarter worth approximately $874,000. Wilkins Investment Counsel Inc. raised its stake in Verizon Communications by 1.5% during the first quarter. Wilkins Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 26,009 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $1,180,000 after acquiring an additional 375 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Verizon Communications by 737.5% during the first quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 11,697,003 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $530,576,000 after acquiring an additional 10,300,369 shares in the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. raised its stake in Verizon Communications by 2.0% during the first quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 3,214,461 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $145,808,000 after acquiring an additional 62,277 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers raised its stake in Verizon Communications by 6.9% during the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 1,947,646 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $88,345,000 after acquiring an additional 126,559 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 62.06% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other Verizon Communications news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 9,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 $441,352.80. This trade represents a 47.35% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Verizon Communications Stock Up 0.0%

Shares of Verizon Communications stock traded up $0.02 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $43.10. The company had a trading volume of 16,557,678 shares, compared to its average volume of 19,882,436. The company has a 50 day moving average of $42.86 and a 200 day moving average of $42.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a current ratio of 0.64. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52-week low of $37.58 and a 52-week high of $47.35. The stock has a market capitalization of $181.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.05, a P/E/G ratio of 3.33 and a beta of 0.37.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 21st. The cell phone carrier reported $1.22 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.19 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $34.50 billion during 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 firm's revenue was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.15 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The company 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. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.29%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 10th. Verizon Communications's payout ratio is currently 63.17%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently issued reports on VZ. 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. Oppenheimer increased their target price on Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price target on Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Tigress Financial lifted their price objective on Verizon Communications from $55.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, April 28th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $47.35.

Verizon Communications Company 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).