Hourglass Capital LLC Raises Holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Hourglass Capital LLC increased its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 16.6% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 48,655 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after purchasing an additional 6,935 shares during the period. Hourglass Capital LLC's holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $2,207,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Crescent Sterling Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 0.8% during the first quarter. Crescent Sterling Ltd. now owns 30,906 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $1,402,000 after buying an additional 235 shares during the last quarter. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. increased its stake 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 worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 243 shares during the period. Cherry Tree Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Verizon Communications by 71.8% in the 1st quarter. Cherry Tree Wealth Management LLC now owns 584 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 244 shares during the period. NCM Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Verizon Communications by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. NCM Capital Management LLC now owns 18,390 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $735,000 after purchasing an additional 245 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CRA Financial Services LLC boosted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 3.7% during the first quarter. CRA Financial Services LLC now owns 6,913 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $314,000 after purchasing an additional 246 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 62.06% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 9,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.10, for a total transaction of $396,900.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 10,008 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $441,352.80. This represents 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. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 21,500 shares of company stock valued at $938,400. 0.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Verizon Communications Stock Down 1.0%

Shares of Verizon Communications stock traded down $0.40 during trading on Friday, hitting $41.63. The company's stock had a trading volume of 20,156,157 shares, compared to its average volume of 20,209,684. The company has a market capitalization of $175.52 billion, a PE ratio of 9.91, a P/E/G ratio of 3.37 and a beta of 0.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a current ratio of 0.61. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52 week low of $37.59 and a 52 week high of $47.36. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $43.14 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $42.36.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.19 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.15 by $0.04. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.66% and a net margin of 13.14%. The firm had revenue of $33.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $33.31 billion. Equities research analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 10th will be given a $0.6775 dividend. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.51%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 10th. Verizon Communications's dividend payout ratio is presently 64.52%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VZ has been the topic of several analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating and set a $45.00 price objective (up from $42.00) on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Tuesday, March 25th. Arete Research upgraded shares of Verizon Communications to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday. Scotiabank boosted their price target on Verizon Communications from $48.50 to $49.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, 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 research report on Friday, April 11th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $47.00.

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).