Exeter Financial LLC Grows Stock Holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Exeter Financial LLC lifted its position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 6.8% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 92,029 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after acquiring an additional 5,881 shares during the quarter. Verizon Communications makes up about 1.9% of Exeter Financial LLC's holdings, making the stock its 18th biggest holding. Exeter Financial LLC's holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $4,174,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Roffman Miller Associates Inc. PA boosted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Roffman Miller Associates Inc. PA now owns 382,678 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $15,303,000 after purchasing an additional 6,795 shares during the period. BridgePort Financial Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter worth approximately $381,000. Global Wealth Management Investment Advisory Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter valued at $4,333,000. Private Advisor Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 64.6% during the 4th quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 1,394,921 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $55,783,000 after acquiring an additional 547,384 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Axis Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter worth $1,200,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.06% of the company's stock.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

NYSE VZ traded down $0.07 during trading on Monday, reaching $43.90. The company's stock had a trading volume of 4,080,236 shares, compared to its average volume of 20,037,227. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $43.57 and a 200 day moving average price of $42.23. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12 month low of $37.59 and a 12 month high of $47.36. The firm has a market capitalization of $185.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a current ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly 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 business 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 19.80% and a net margin of 12.99%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. Wall Street Zen cut Verizon Communications from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a "sector perform" rating and issued a $45.00 price target (up previously from $42.00) on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Tuesday, March 25th. Scotiabank lifted their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $48.50 to $49.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Wolfe Research cut Verizon Communications from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised Verizon Communications from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $48.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Friday, April 11th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $47.41.

Insider Buying and Selling at Verizon Communications

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

Verizon Communications 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).