Foundations Investment Advisors LLC Purchases 19,838 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Key Points

• Foundations Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in Verizon Communications by 8.9%, acquiring an additional 19,838 shares to total 242,204 shares valued at approximately $10.99 million.
• Verizon's latest quarterly results showed $1.22 earnings per share, beating estimates, with revenue at $34.50 billion, reflecting a year-over-year increase of 5.2%.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.6775 per share, translating to an annualized dividend of $2.71 and a yield of 6.29% for shareholders.

Foundations Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 8.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 242,204 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after purchasing an additional 19,838 shares during the quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC's holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $10,986,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Brighton Jones LLC grew its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 61.2% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 43,986 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $1,759,000 after acquiring an additional 16,704 shares during the period. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $218,000. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC grew its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 6.6% during the 4th quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 176,397 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $7,054,000 after acquiring an additional 10,873 shares during the period. RiverFront Investment Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 17.3% during the 4th quarter. RiverFront Investment Group LLC now owns 9,086 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $363,000 after acquiring an additional 1,340 shares during the period. Finally, Maridea Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter worth approximately $248,000. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Verizon Communications Trading Up 0.0%

Shares of NYSE:VZ opened at $43.10 on Monday. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52-week low of $37.58 and a 52-week high of $47.35. The stock has a market cap of $181.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.05, a PEG ratio of 3.33 and a beta of 0.37. The company has a quick ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $42.86 and a 200-day moving average price of $42.56.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 21st. The cell phone carrier reported $1.22 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.19 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $34.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $33.47 billion. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.61% and a net margin of 13.28%. Verizon Communications's quarterly revenue was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.15 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 10th will be issued a $0.6775 dividend. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.29%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 10th. Verizon Communications's payout ratio is currently 63.17%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Verizon Communications news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 9,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 10,008 shares of the company's stock, 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.10% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have weighed in on VZ. Arete Research upgraded Verizon Communications to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Finally, Evercore ISI upgraded Verizon Communications from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $48.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Eleven 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, Verizon Communications presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $47.35.

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).

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