Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Shares Bought by Crossmark Global Holdings Inc.

Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. grew its position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 6.7% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 824,547 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after acquiring an additional 51,674 shares during the quarter. Verizon Communications comprises about 0.7% of Crossmark Global Holdings Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 21st largest position. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc.'s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $37,401,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in VZ. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. raised its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 81.0% in the first quarter. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. now owns 543 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 243 shares during the period. Cherry Tree Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 71.8% in the first 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. purchased a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the first quarter valued at $26,000. 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 worth $31,000 after buying an additional 415 shares during the period. Finally, Graney & King LLC purchased a new position in Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter worth about $32,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.06% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Verizon Communications

In related news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 9,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 10,008 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $441,352.80. The trade was a 47.35% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 21,500 shares of company stock worth $938,400. 0.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

VZ stock traded down $0.75 during trading on Monday, reaching $42.80. The company had a trading volume of 21,991,049 shares, compared to its average volume of 20,139,095. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $43.23 and a 200-day simple moving average of $42.31. The company has a market cap of $180.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.23 and a beta of 0.37. 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 twelve month low of $37.59 and a twelve month high of $47.36.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.19 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.15 by $0.04. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 13.14% and a return on equity of 19.66%. The business had revenue of $33.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $33.31 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts expect 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. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.6775 per share. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.33%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 10th. Verizon Communications's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 64.52%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently commented on VZ. Oppenheimer raised their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock 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 target on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Wolfe Research downgraded shares of Verizon Communications from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Bank of America started coverage on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Monday. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $45.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Tigress Financial raised 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. Nine 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, Verizon Communications presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $47.25.

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).