Elyxium Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 9,643 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock, valued at approximately $437,000.
Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in 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 valued at $14,549,343,000 after acquiring an additional 5,697,337 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Verizon Communications by 1.0% in the fourth 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 buying an additional 998,847 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter worth approximately $2,300,846,000. Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 12.4% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 45,043,310 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $1,801,282,000 after purchasing an additional 4,951,733 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 13.3% during the fourth 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 worth $1,555,351,000 after purchasing an additional 4,568,518 shares during the period. 62.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
Insider Transactions at Verizon Communications
In other Verizon Communications news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 9,000 shares of Verizon Communications 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 owned 10,008 shares in the company, valued at approximately $441,352.80. The trade was a 47.35% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In the last three months, insiders sold 21,500 shares of company stock worth $938,400. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth
A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on VZ shares. Bank of America assumed coverage on Verizon Communications in a research note on Monday, July 7th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $45.00 target price on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued a "sector perform" rating and set a $45.00 price target (up previously from $42.00) on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Tuesday, March 25th. Scotiabank increased their price target on Verizon Communications from $48.50 to $49.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, Tigress Financial increased their price target on Verizon Communications from $55.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $47.00.
Get Our Latest Stock Analysis on VZ
Verizon Communications Stock Performance
VZ stock opened at $40.77 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $42.88 and a 200-day moving average price of $42.42. 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 firm has a market cap of $171.90 billion, a PE ratio of 9.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.28 and a beta of 0.37.
Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.19 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.15 by $0.04. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.66% and a net margin of 13.14%. The business had revenue of $33.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.31 billion. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current year.
Verizon Communications Announces Dividend
The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.6775 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 10th. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.65%. Verizon Communications's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 64.52%.
About Verizon Communications
(
Free Report)
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).
Further Reading
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