Golden State Wealth Management LLC Buys 32,876 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Golden State Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 124.2% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 59,337 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after purchasing an additional 32,876 shares during the quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC's holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $2,692,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in VZ. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. increased its holdings in Verizon Communications by 81.0% in 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. Cherry Tree Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Verizon Communications by 71.8% in the first quarter. Cherry Tree Wealth Management LLC now owns 584 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 244 shares during the period. Garde Capital Inc. bought a new stake in Verizon Communications in the first quarter valued at about $26,000. Mainstream Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, Mattson Financial Services LLC grew its stake 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 valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 415 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.06% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Verizon Communications

In other Verizon Communications news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 9,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 10,008 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $441,352.80. This 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 the SEC website. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 21,500 shares of company stock worth $938,400. 0.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently commented on the company. Wolfe Research downgraded Verizon Communications from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. Tigress Financial lifted their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $55.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, April 28th. Oppenheimer boosted 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. Evercore ISI raised Verizon Communications from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $48.00 price target for the company in a report on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Scotiabank lifted their price objective on Verizon Communications from $48.50 to $49.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $47.41.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

Shares of VZ stock opened at $42.66 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 0.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12 month low of $37.59 and a 12 month high of $47.36. The firm has a market cap of $179.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.16, a PEG ratio of 3.14 and a beta of 0.38. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $43.25 and a 200 day moving average price of $42.21.

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 for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.15 by $0.04. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 13.14% and a return on equity of 19.66%. The business had revenue of $33.50 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $33.31 billion. Research analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, July 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.6775 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 10th. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.35%. Verizon Communications's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 64.52%.

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).

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