CJM Wealth Advisers Ltd. Takes $301,000 Position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

CJM Wealth Advisers Ltd. bought a new stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 6,645 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock, valued at approximately $301,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of VZ. Mainstream Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Mattson Financial Services LLC increased its stake in Verizon Communications by 114.6% in 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. Graney & King LLC acquired a new position in Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Capital A Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Compass Financial Services Inc acquired a new position in Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. 62.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Verizon Communications

In other news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 5,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.48, for a total transaction of $212,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 36,508 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,550,859.84. This represents a 12.05% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In the last quarter, insiders sold 21,500 shares of company stock valued at $938,400. 0.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

Verizon Communications stock opened at $43.82 on Monday. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52 week low of $37.59 and a 52 week high of $47.36. The company has a quick ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $43.44 and its 200 day simple moving average is $42.28. The firm has a market capitalization of $184.76 billion, a PE ratio of 10.58, a P/E/G ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.38.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.19 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.15 by $0.04. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 12.99% and a return on equity of 19.80%. The business had revenue of $33.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.31 billion. On average, equities research analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS 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. Investors of record on Thursday, July 10th will be paid a $0.6775 dividend. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.18%. Verizon Communications's payout ratio is 64.52%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VZ has been the topic of several recent research reports. Scotiabank boosted their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $48.50 to $49.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Oppenheimer boosted 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. Evercore ISI raised shares of Verizon Communications from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $48.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Verizon Communications from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated a "sector perform" rating and set a $45.00 target price (up from $42.00) on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Tuesday, March 25th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $47.41.

About Verizon Communications

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).

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