Forte Capital LLC ADV Purchases 7,480 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Forte Capital LLC ADV lifted its position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 11.5% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 72,580 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after acquiring an additional 7,480 shares during the period. Forte Capital LLC ADV's holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $3,292,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VZ. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. increased 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 valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 243 shares in the last quarter. Cherry Tree Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 71.8% in the 1st quarter. Cherry Tree Wealth Management LLC now owns 584 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 244 shares in the last quarter. Garde Capital Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the 1st quarter worth $26,000. Mattson Financial Services LLC increased its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 114.6% in the 4th quarter. Mattson Financial Services LLC now owns 777 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 415 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Graney & King LLC bought a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter worth $32,000. Institutional investors own 62.06% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VZ has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Tigress Financial lifted their target price on Verizon Communications from $55.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, April 28th. Scotiabank lifted their target price on Verizon Communications from $48.50 to $49.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Arete Research raised Verizon Communications to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Bank of America began coverage on Verizon Communications in a research note on Monday, July 7th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $45.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Evercore ISI upgraded Verizon Communications from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $48.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $47.00.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

NYSE VZ traded down $0.29 on Thursday, hitting $40.96. 18,385,820 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 20,227,166. The company has a market capitalization of $172.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.75, a P/E/G ratio of 3.31 and a beta of 0.37. 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 business's 50 day moving average price is $42.99 and its 200-day moving average price is $42.39. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52-week low of $37.59 and a 52-week high of $47.36.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.19 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $33.31 billion. Equities analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 10th will be given a $0.6775 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 10th. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.62%. Verizon Communications's payout ratio is 64.52%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 9,000 shares of Verizon Communications stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief executive officer owned 10,008 shares in the company, valued at $441,352.80. This trade represents a 47.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders have sold a total of 21,500 shares of company stock worth $938,400 in the last quarter. Company 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).