Challenger Wealth Management Invests $395,000 in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Challenger Wealth Management acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 9,873 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock, valued at approximately $395,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Ascent Group LLC lifted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Ascent Group LLC now owns 154,102 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $6,163,000 after purchasing an additional 1,249 shares in the last quarter. Putney Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter valued at about $301,000. Perennial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter valued at about $4,415,000. Vermillion Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter valued at about $74,000. Finally, AlphaCore Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 16.9% in the 4th quarter. AlphaCore Capital LLC now owns 44,982 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $1,799,000 after acquiring an additional 6,501 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.06% of the company's stock.

Verizon Communications Trading Up 0.2%

Verizon Communications stock traded up $0.07 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $43.20. The company had a trading volume of 4,131,189 shares, compared to its average volume of 20,115,432. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 0.63 and a quick ratio of 0.59. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $43.57 and a 200 day moving average price of $42.17. The firm has a market cap of $182.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.43, a P/E/G ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.39. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12-month low of $37.59 and a 12-month high of $47.36.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.19 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.15 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $33.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $33.31 billion. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.80% and a net margin of 12.99%. Equities analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 10th were paid a $0.6775 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.27%. Verizon Communications's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 64.52%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have weighed in on VZ shares. Wolfe Research cut Verizon Communications from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. DZ Bank raised Verizon Communications from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $40.00 price target on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Oppenheimer raised their price target on 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 reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating and issued a $45.00 price target (up previously from $42.00) on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut Verizon Communications from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, March 13th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $47.41.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Verizon Communications news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 5,000 shares of Verizon Communications stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.48, for a total value of $212,400.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 36,508 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,550,859.84. The trade was a 12.05% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders have sold 21,500 shares of company stock valued at $938,400 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.10% of the company's stock.

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).