Diversify Advisory Services LLC Acquires 11,407 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Diversify Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 10.4% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 121,297 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after purchasing an additional 11,407 shares during the period. Diversify Advisory Services LLC's holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $5,210,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of VZ. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. grew its position in Verizon Communications by 81.0% during the 1st quarter. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. now owns 543 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 243 shares during the last quarter. Cherry Tree Wealth Management LLC grew its position in 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 worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 244 shares during the last quarter. Garde Capital Inc. acquired a new position in Verizon Communications during the 1st quarter worth about $26,000. Mattson Financial Services LLC lifted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 114.6% during 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 acquired a new position in Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter worth about $32,000. Institutional investors own 62.06% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 9,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.10, for a total transaction of $396,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 10,008 shares in the company, valued at $441,352.80. The trade was a 47.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders sold 21,500 shares of company stock worth $938,400 in the last three months. 0.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE VZ traded down $0.08 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $40.87. The company had a trading volume of 4,186,044 shares, compared to its average volume of 20,166,172. The company has a market capitalization of $172.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.73, a P/E/G ratio of 3.31 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. The company has a current ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $42.94 and its 200-day moving average price is $42.40.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last announced 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. The company had revenue of $33.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $33.31 billion. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.66% and a net margin of 13.14%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast 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. Investors of record on Thursday, July 10th will be given a dividend of $0.6775 per share. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.63%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 10th. Verizon Communications's payout ratio is 64.52%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VZ has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on Verizon Communications in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. They issued an "equal weight" rating and a $47.00 price objective on the stock. Bank of America initiated coverage on Verizon Communications in a report on Monday, July 7th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $45.00 target price on the stock. Evercore ISI raised Verizon Communications from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $48.00 price target for the company in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating and set a $45.00 price target (up from $42.00) on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Tuesday, March 25th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $47.00.

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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