Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Shares Acquired by Exchange Traded Concepts LLC

Exchange Traded Concepts LLC raised its holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 26.7% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 913,213 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after acquiring an additional 192,679 shares during the quarter. Verizon Communications accounts for about 0.7% of Exchange Traded Concepts LLC's holdings, making the stock its 27th biggest position. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC's holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $41,423,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. increased its position 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 buying an additional 243 shares in the last quarter. Mainstream Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Mattson Financial Services LLC raised its position in Verizon Communications by 114.6% during the fourth quarter. Mattson Financial Services LLC now owns 777 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 415 shares during the last quarter. Graney & King LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, Capital A Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Royal Bank of Canada restated a "sector perform" rating and set a $45.00 price objective (up from $42.00) on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Tuesday, March 25th. Tigress Financial upped their price objective on Verizon Communications from $55.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Wolfe Research lowered Verizon Communications from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Verizon Communications from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. Finally, Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Verizon Communications from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $48.00 target price on the stock in a report on Friday, April 11th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $47.41.

Verizon Communications Trading Down 0.5%

Shares of NYSE VZ traded down $0.21 during trading on Friday, hitting $42.96. 13,542,192 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 20,119,200. The firm has a market capitalization of $181.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.38, a P/E/G ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a quick ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $43.43 and a 200-day moving average price of $42.28. 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 results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.15 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $33.50 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $33.31 billion. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.80% and a net margin of 12.99%. On average, equities analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, July 10th will be issued a $0.6775 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 10th. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.31%. Verizon Communications's payout ratio is 64.52%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Verizon Communications

In other Verizon Communications news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 5,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.48, for a total value of $212,400.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 36,508 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,550,859.84. This trade represents a 12.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders have sold a total of 21,500 shares of company stock valued at $938,400 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.10% of the company's stock.

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).