Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. Has $18.56 Million Stock Holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 7.2% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 409,051 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after acquiring an additional 27,461 shares during the quarter. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc.'s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $18,555,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter valued at $2,300,846,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter valued at $1,083,337,000. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. grew its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 3,601.6% during the 4th quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. now owns 8,937,180 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $357,398,000 after purchasing an additional 8,695,736 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 7.3% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 108,694,230 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $4,346,682,000 after purchasing an additional 7,421,148 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital Research Global Investors grew its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 52.7% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 19,828,378 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $792,937,000 after purchasing an additional 6,846,514 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 62.06% of the company's stock.

Verizon Communications Trading Down 0.5%

Shares of VZ traded down $0.21 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $42.96. 13,542,192 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 20,119,200. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52 week low of $37.59 and a 52 week high of $47.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a current ratio of 0.63. The stock has a market capitalization of $181.11 billion, a PE ratio of 10.38, a PEG ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.38. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $43.43 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $42.28.

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, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.15 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $33.50 billion for 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%. On average, analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The business 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. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 10th. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.31%. Verizon Communications's payout ratio is presently 64.52%.

Insider Activity at Verizon Communications

In related news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 9,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.10, for a total transaction of $396,900.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 10,008 shares in the company, valued at $441,352.80. The trade was a 47.35% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders have sold 21,500 shares of company stock worth $938,400 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.10% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

VZ has been the topic of several analyst reports. Oppenheimer increased their target price on Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Wall Street Zen lowered Verizon Communications from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, March 13th. 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 research note on Friday, April 11th. Tigress Financial raised their price objective on Verizon Communications from $55.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating and issued a $45.00 price objective (up from $42.00) on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Tuesday, March 25th. Nine equities research 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's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $47.41.

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).