Cwm LLC Has $57.40 Million Stock Holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Cwm LLC grew its holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 2.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,265,411 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after purchasing an additional 25,091 shares during the quarter. Cwm LLC's holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $57,399,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Brighton Jones LLC raised its stake in Verizon Communications by 61.2% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 43,986 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $1,759,000 after buying an additional 16,704 shares during the period. Proficio Capital Partners LLC raised its stake in Verizon Communications by 64.4% during the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 11,127 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $445,000 after buying an additional 4,360 shares during the period. PGGM Investments acquired a new position in Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter worth approximately $158,000. Impact Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter worth approximately $265,000. Finally, Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC raised its stake in Verizon Communications by 3.6% during the 4th quarter. Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC now owns 30,607 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $1,224,000 after buying an additional 1,072 shares during the period. 62.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 9,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 10,008 shares of the company's stock, valued at $441,352.80. This represents a 47.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders sold 21,500 shares of company stock valued at $938,400 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.10% of the company's stock.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

VZ stock opened at $41.63 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $175.52 billion, a PE ratio of 9.91, a P/E/G ratio of 3.34 and a beta of 0.37. The company has a quick ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 0.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19. The business has a 50 day moving average of $43.14 and a 200-day moving average of $42.38. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12-month low of $37.59 and a 12-month high of $47.36.

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

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The firm 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 $0.6775 dividend. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.51%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 10th. Verizon Communications's dividend payout ratio is presently 64.52%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on VZ shares. Oppenheimer upped their price target on 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 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. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday. Scotiabank upped their price target on Verizon Communications from $48.50 to $49.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Arete Research raised Verizon Communications to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Verizon Communications presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price 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).

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