Capital Advisors Inc. OK Boosts Stock Holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Capital Advisors Inc. OK increased its holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 24.2% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,272,262 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after buying an additional 247,531 shares during the quarter. Verizon Communications comprises approximately 1.1% of Capital Advisors Inc. OK's investment portfolio, making the stock its 26th largest holding. Capital Advisors Inc. OK's holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $57,710,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. grew its position in Verizon Communications by 81.0% during 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. Garde Capital Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the first quarter worth about $26,000. Cherry Tree Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Verizon Communications by 71.8% during the first quarter. Cherry Tree Wealth Management LLC now owns 584 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 244 shares during the period. EQ Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Verizon Communications during the first quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, Mattson Financial Services LLC raised its position in Verizon Communications by 114.6% during 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 in the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently commented on VZ. Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Monday. They set a "neutral" rating and a $45.00 price objective on the stock. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued a "sector perform" rating and set a $45.00 target price (up from $42.00) on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Tuesday, March 25th. Evercore ISI upgraded Verizon Communications from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $48.00 price target for the company in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut Verizon Communications from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, March 13th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Verizon Communications has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $47.25.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:VZ traded down $0.75 during trading on Monday, reaching $42.80. The stock had a trading volume of 21,991,049 shares, compared to its average volume of 20,139,074. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a current ratio of 0.61. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1-year low of $37.59 and a 1-year high of $47.36. The stock has a market cap of $180.46 billion, a PE ratio of 10.19, a PEG ratio of 3.23 and a beta of 0.37. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $43.23 and a 200-day moving average price of $42.31.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.15 by $0.04. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 13.14% and a return on equity of 19.66%. The company had revenue of $33.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $33.31 billion. On average, equities analysts forecast 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. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 10th will be paid a $0.6775 dividend. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.33%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 10th. Verizon Communications's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 64.52%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Verizon Communications

In other 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 transaction of $396,900.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer 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 legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 21,500 shares of company stock worth $938,400. Insiders own 0.10% of the company's stock.

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).