GAMMA Investing LLC Boosts Holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 5,103.0% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 3,113,556 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after purchasing an additional 3,053,715 shares during the quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC owned about 0.07% of Verizon Communications worth $141,231,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Roffman Miller Associates Inc. PA lifted its position 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 in the last quarter. BridgePort Financial Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter worth approximately $381,000. Global Wealth Management Investment Advisory Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter worth approximately $4,333,000. Private Advisor Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 64.6% during the fourth quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 1,394,921 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $55,783,000 after buying an additional 547,384 shares during the period. Finally, Axis Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,200,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.06% of the company's stock.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

Verizon Communications stock traded down $0.24 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $43.87. The company's stock had a trading volume of 13,092,789 shares, compared to its average volume of 23,206,512. The firm has a market capitalization of $184.95 billion, a PE ratio of 10.60, a P/E/G ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a current ratio of 0.63. Verizon Communications Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $37.58 and a fifty-two week high of $47.35. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $43.57 and its 200 day simple moving average is $42.24.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.15 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $33.50 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $33.31 billion. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.80% and a net margin of 12.99%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of 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. Wolfe Research lowered shares of Verizon Communications from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Oppenheimer increased their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. Scotiabank increased their price target 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. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a "sector perform" rating and issued a $45.00 price target (up from $42.00) on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Tuesday, March 25th. Nine investment 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's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $47.41.

Insider Transactions at Verizon Communications

In related news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 9,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.10, for a total value of $396,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 10,008 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $441,352.80. The trade was a 47.35% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders sold 21,500 shares of company stock valued at $938,400 in the last 90 days. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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).