HBW Advisory Services LLC Acquires 6,298 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

HBW Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 7.5% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 90,012 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after acquiring an additional 6,298 shares during the period. HBW Advisory Services LLC's holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $4,083,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Verizon Communications by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 363,824,525 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $14,549,343,000 after buying an additional 5,697,337 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 7.3% in the fourth 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 acquiring an additional 7,421,148 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 96,823,092 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $3,862,441,000 after acquiring an additional 998,847 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter worth approximately $2,300,846,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 12.4% in the fourth 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 during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.06% of the company's stock.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

NYSE VZ traded up $0.02 during trading on Thursday, reaching $43.26. 12,048,588 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 19,998,511. The company has a market cap of $182.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.45, a P/E/G ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.39. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $43.51 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $42.26. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1-year low of $37.59 and a 1-year high of $47.36. 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 (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.19 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $33.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $33.31 billion. As a group, analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on VZ shares. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a "sector perform" rating and set a $45.00 price target (up from $42.00) on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Tuesday, March 25th. Evercore ISI raised 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. Scotiabank upped their price objective 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. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Verizon Communications from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. Finally, Wolfe Research lowered shares of Verizon Communications from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $47.41.

Insider Activity at Verizon Communications

In other Verizon Communications news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 7,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.88, for a total transaction of $329,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 19,008 shares in the company, valued at approximately $834,071.04. This represents a 28.29% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders have sold 21,500 shares of company stock worth $938,400 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.10% of the company's stock.

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).