Foster & Motley Inc. Purchases 8,989 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Key Points

• Foster & Motley Inc. increased its holdings in Verizon Communications by 9.3% in the first quarter, owning $4.79 million worth of stock after purchasing additional shares.
• Verizon Communications reported an EPS of $1.22 for the quarter, exceeding expectations by $0.03 and achieving a revenue of $34.50 billion, which was also above estimates.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.6775 per share, yielding 6.35%, with a payout ratio of 63.17%.

Foster & Motley Inc. lifted its holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 9.3% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 105,668 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after buying an additional 8,989 shares during the quarter. Foster & Motley Inc.'s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $4,793,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. increased its stake 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 during the period. Garde Capital Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the 1st quarter valued at $26,000. Cherry Tree Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Verizon Communications by 71.8% during the first quarter. Cherry Tree Wealth Management LLC now owns 584 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 244 shares in the last quarter. EQ Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Verizon Communications in the first quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, Mattson Financial Services LLC boosted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 114.6% during the 4th quarter. Mattson Financial Services LLC now owns 777 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 415 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 62.06% of the company's stock.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

Verizon Communications stock traded down $0.06 on Wednesday, reaching $42.65. 13,276,850 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 19,105,686. The company has a current ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $42.77 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $42.59. The stock has a market cap of $179.83 billion, a PE ratio of 9.94, a PEG ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 0.37. Verizon Communications Inc. has a twelve month low of $37.58 and a twelve month high of $47.35.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Monday, July 21st. The cell phone carrier reported $1.22 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.19 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $34.50 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $33.47 billion. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.61% and a net margin of 13.28%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.15 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.35%. Verizon Communications's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 63.17%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 9,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.10, for a total value of $396,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 10,008 shares in the company, valued at approximately $441,352.80. This trade represents a 47.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on VZ shares. Arete Research raised Verizon Communications to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Verizon Communications from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday. Tigress Financial increased their price objective on Verizon Communications from $55.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $47.35.

Verizon Communications Company 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).