Code Waechter LLC Makes New $592,000 Investment in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Code Waechter LLC acquired a new position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 13,046 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock, valued at approximately $592,000.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. grew its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 81.0% during the 1st quarter. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. now owns 543 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $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% during the 1st quarter. Cherry Tree Wealth Management LLC now owns 584 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 244 shares during the period. Garde Capital Inc. bought a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Mattson Financial Services LLC grew its stake 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 acquiring an additional 415 shares during the period. Finally, Graney & King LLC bought a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $32,000. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Verizon Communications Trading Down 1.4%

NYSE:VZ traded down $0.61 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $42.00. 19,329,523 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 20,178,878. The firm's fifty day moving average is $43.21 and its 200-day moving average is $42.33. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12-month low of $37.59 and a 12-month high of $47.36. The firm has a market capitalization of $177.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.00, a P/E/G ratio of 3.42 and a beta of 0.37. The company has a current ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.19 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.15 by $0.04. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.66% and a net margin of 13.14%. The company had revenue of $33.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.31 billion. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, July 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.6775 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 10th. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.45%. Verizon Communications's payout ratio is presently 64.52%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Verizon Communications news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 9,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.10, for a total value of $396,900.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 10,008 shares in the company, valued at $441,352.80. This trade represents a 47.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 21,500 shares of company stock worth $938,400. Corporate insiders own 0.10% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently commented on VZ shares. Scotiabank boosted their price target on Verizon Communications from $48.50 to $49.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday. Wolfe Research cut Verizon Communications from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued a "sector perform" rating and issued a $45.00 price target (up from $42.00) on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. Finally, Tigress Financial boosted their price target on Verizon Communications from $55.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, April 28th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $47.00.

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).