Copperwynd Financial LLC Acquires 10,338 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Copperwynd Financial LLC increased its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 78.8% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 23,458 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after buying an additional 10,338 shares during the period. Copperwynd Financial LLC's holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $1,064,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 363,824,525 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $14,549,343,000 after purchasing an additional 5,697,337 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in Verizon Communications by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 96,823,092 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $3,862,441,000 after purchasing an additional 998,847 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter worth about $2,300,846,000. Northern Trust Corp grew its position in Verizon Communications by 12.4% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 45,043,310 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $1,801,282,000 after purchasing an additional 4,951,733 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its position in Verizon Communications by 13.3% during the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 38,893,487 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $1,555,351,000 after purchasing an additional 4,568,518 shares during the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 9,000 shares of Verizon Communications stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.10, for a total value of $396,900.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 10,008 shares of the company's stock, valued at $441,352.80. This trade represents a 47.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders 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 currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have commented on VZ shares. Scotiabank raised their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $48.50 to $49.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Arete Research raised shares of Verizon Communications to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Monday, July 7th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $45.00 target price for the company. Tigress Financial boosted their price target on Verizon Communications from $55.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Finally, Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on Verizon Communications in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. They issued an "equal weight" rating and a $47.00 target price on the stock. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $47.00.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

NYSE VZ traded down $0.18 during trading on Friday, reaching $40.77. 20,997,542 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 20,259,077. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a current ratio of 0.61. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $42.88 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $42.42. The company has a market cap of $171.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.71, a P/E/G ratio of 3.28 and a beta of 0.37. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1-year low of $37.59 and a 1-year high of $47.36.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $33.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $33.31 billion. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 13.14% and a return on equity of 19.66%. As a group, analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 10th will be issued a $0.6775 dividend. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.65%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 10th. Verizon Communications's payout ratio is 64.52%.

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).