Challenger Wealth Management Makes New Investment in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Challenger Wealth Management acquired a new position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 9,873 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock, valued at approximately $395,000.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Verizon Communications by 27.7% during the 4th quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 222,366 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $8,892,000 after purchasing an additional 48,294 shares in the last quarter. Roffman Miller Associates Inc. PA grew its holdings in Verizon Communications by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Roffman Miller Associates Inc. PA now owns 382,678 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $15,303,000 after purchasing an additional 6,795 shares in the last quarter. Global Wealth Management Investment Advisory Inc. acquired a new stake in Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter valued at $4,333,000. Private Advisor Group LLC grew its holdings in Verizon Communications by 64.6% during the 4th quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 1,394,921 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $55,783,000 after purchasing an additional 547,384 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Axis Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter valued at $1,200,000. 62.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Verizon Communications Trading Up 0.4%

NYSE:VZ traded up $0.18 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $43.50. 12,862,291 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 20,187,579. The firm has a market capitalization of $183.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.51, a PEG ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.39. Verizon Communications Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $37.59 and a fifty-two week high of $47.36. The company has a current ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $43.59 and a 200-day simple moving average of $42.15.

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

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, April 10th were given a dividend of $0.6775 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.23%. Verizon Communications's payout ratio is presently 64.52%.

Insider Activity at Verizon Communications

In other Verizon Communications news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 9,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on 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 now owns 10,008 shares in the company, valued at approximately $441,352.80. This represents a 47.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders have sold 21,500 shares of company stock worth $938,400 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.10% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on VZ shares. Tigress Financial raised their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $55.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, April 28th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Verizon Communications from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. Wolfe Research downgraded shares of Verizon Communications from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. Finally, Argus upgraded shares of Verizon Communications to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Verizon Communications presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $47.41.

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).