Hennessy Advisors Inc. Has $10.77 Million Stock Position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Hennessy Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 4.1% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 237,350 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after purchasing an additional 9,400 shares during the quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc.'s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $10,766,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in VZ. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. lifted its stake in Verizon Communications by 81.0% in the first quarter. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. now owns 543 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 243 shares during the last quarter. Mainstream Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Mattson Financial Services LLC raised its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 114.6% in the fourth 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. Graney & King LLC bought a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, Capital A Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

Verizon Communications stock traded down $0.21 on Friday, hitting $42.96. The company's stock had a trading volume of 13,542,192 shares, compared to its average volume of 20,080,646. The firm has a market cap of $181.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a quick ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $43.43 and a 200-day moving average price of $42.29. Verizon Communications Inc. has a one year low of $37.59 and a one year high of $47.36.

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

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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 6.31%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 10th. Verizon Communications's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 64.52%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Verizon Communications

In other news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 7,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.88, for a total value of $329,100.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 19,008 shares of the company's stock, 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 available through the SEC website. Insiders have 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 company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently commented on VZ. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a "sector perform" rating and issued a $45.00 price target (up previously from $42.00) on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Tuesday, March 25th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Verizon Communications from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. Scotiabank lifted 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 report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Wolfe Research lowered shares of Verizon Communications from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. Finally, 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 research report on Monday, April 28th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $47.41.

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).