Inscription Capital LLC Takes Position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Inscription Capital LLC purchased a new position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 23,318 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock, valued at approximately $978,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Stephens Consulting LLC lifted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 23.6% in the 1st quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC now owns 1,695 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $77,000 after acquiring an additional 324 shares in the last quarter. Grove Bank & Trust raised its stake in Verizon Communications by 21.4% during the 1st quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 9,926 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $450,000 after purchasing an additional 1,750 shares during the period. Grimes & Company Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 7.1% in the first quarter. Grimes & Company Inc. now owns 268,667 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $12,187,000 after purchasing an additional 17,696 shares in the last quarter. Stockman Wealth Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 11.5% in the first quarter. Stockman Wealth Management Inc. now owns 172,648 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $7,831,000 after buying an additional 17,789 shares during the period. Finally, Boothe Investment Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 3.4% during the first quarter. Boothe Investment Group Inc. now owns 25,714 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $1,166,000 after buying an additional 835 shares in the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have weighed in on VZ shares. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. Scotiabank boosted their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $48.50 to $49.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Evercore ISI raised shares of Verizon Communications from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $48.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated a "sector perform" rating and set a $45.00 price objective (up from $42.00) on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Verizon Communications from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. 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's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $47.41.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

Verizon Communications stock traded down $0.06 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $41.79. 3,835,035 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 20,061,145. The company has a market capitalization of $176.20 billion, a PE ratio of 9.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.15 and a beta of 0.38. The business has a fifty day moving average of $43.42 and a 200 day moving average of $42.25. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1-year low of $37.59 and a 1-year high of $47.36. 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 (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.19 earnings per share (EPS) 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 analysts' expectations of $33.31 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.6775 per share. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.48%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 10th. Verizon Communications's payout ratio is 64.52%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 9,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 7th. The stock was 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 directly owns 10,008 shares in the company, valued at approximately $441,352.80. This trade represents a 47.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 21,500 shares of company stock worth $938,400. 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).