106,479 Shares in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Purchased by Griffith & Werner Inc.

Griffith & Werner Inc. bought a new stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 106,479 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock, valued at approximately $4,258,000. Verizon Communications accounts for 2.8% of Griffith & Werner Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 14th biggest holding.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 363,824,525 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $14,549,343,000 after purchasing an additional 5,697,337 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in Verizon Communications by 7.3% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 108,694,230 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $4,346,682,000 after buying an additional 7,421,148 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in Verizon Communications by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 96,823,092 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $3,862,441,000 after buying an additional 998,847 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $2,300,846,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its position in Verizon Communications by 12.4% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 45,043,310 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $1,801,282,000 after buying an additional 4,951,733 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.06% of the company's stock.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

NYSE VZ traded up $0.18 on Tuesday, hitting $43.50. 12,859,688 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 23,627,656. The business's 50 day moving average price is $43.59 and its 200-day moving average price is $42.15. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52-week low of $37.58 and a 52-week high of $47.35. The company has a market capitalization of $183.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.51, a P/E/G ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a current ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21.

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 19.80% and a net margin of 12.99%. 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 Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 10th were given a $0.6775 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.23%. Verizon Communications's payout ratio is 64.52%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VZ has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Oppenheimer raised their price objective on Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research 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 objective for the company in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Argus raised Verizon Communications to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Scotiabank raised 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. Finally, Wolfe Research lowered Verizon Communications from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $47.41.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 7,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.88, for a total value of $329,100.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 19,008 shares in the company, valued at $834,071.04. The trade was a 28.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders have sold 21,500 shares of company stock worth $938,400 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.10% of the company's stock.

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).