Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Shares Acquired by CHURCHILL MANAGEMENT Corp

CHURCHILL MANAGEMENT Corp lifted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 9.1% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 164,417 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after purchasing an additional 13,658 shares during the period. CHURCHILL MANAGEMENT Corp's holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $7,458,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in VZ. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. raised its stake in Verizon Communications by 81.0% during the first 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. Cherry Tree Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 71.8% in the 1st quarter. Cherry Tree Wealth Management LLC now owns 584 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 244 shares during the period. Garde Capital Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the 1st quarter worth approximately $26,000. Mainstream Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, Mattson Financial Services LLC raised its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 114.6% during the 4th quarter. Mattson Financial Services LLC now owns 777 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 415 shares during the period. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Verizon Communications news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 9,000 shares of the business'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 transaction of $396,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 10,008 shares in the company, valued at $441,352.80. The trade was a 47.35% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders have sold a total of 21,500 shares of company stock valued at $938,400 over the last 90 days. 0.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently weighed in on VZ shares. Scotiabank increased their price objective on Verizon Communications from $48.50 to $49.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. 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 report on Friday, April 11th. Wolfe Research downgraded Verizon Communications from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. Tigress Financial upped their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $55.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Verizon Communications from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $47.41.

Verizon Communications Stock Up 0.9%

Shares of Verizon Communications stock traded up $0.39 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $43.66. 19,223,643 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 20,105,251. The firm has a market cap of $184.08 billion, a PE ratio of 10.40, a PEG ratio of 3.14 and a beta of 0.38. 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's fifty day moving average is $43.15 and its 200 day moving average is $42.22.

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 for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.15 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $33.50 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $33.31 billion. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.66% and a net margin of 13.14%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, July 10th will be issued a $0.6775 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 10th. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.21%. Verizon Communications's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 64.52%.

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).