Insight Inv LLC Boosts Holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Insight Inv LLC increased its holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 71.3% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 46,933 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after buying an additional 19,532 shares during the period. Insight Inv LLC's holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $2,129,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the first quarter valued at approximately $66,000. Argent Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 10.2% during the first quarter. Argent Advisors Inc. now owns 94,043 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $4,266,000 after acquiring an additional 8,699 shares in the last quarter. Kendall Capital Management raised its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 29.3% in the 1st quarter. Kendall Capital Management now owns 6,592 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $299,000 after purchasing an additional 1,493 shares during the last quarter. LifePlan Financial LLC grew its position in Verizon Communications by 4.6% during the 1st quarter. LifePlan Financial LLC now owns 24,744 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $1,122,000 after purchasing an additional 1,078 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Amalgamated Bank grew its position in Verizon Communications by 0.9% during the 1st quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 841,375 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $38,165,000 after purchasing an additional 7,793 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.06% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VZ has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Scotiabank lifted their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $48.50 to $49.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Royal Bank Of Canada restated a "sector perform" rating and issued a $45.00 price objective (up from $42.00) on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. Wolfe Research cut Verizon Communications from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. Wall Street Zen cut Verizon Communications from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised Verizon Communications from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $48.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Nine research 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 company. According to MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $47.41.

Verizon Communications Trading Up 0.5%

Shares of NYSE VZ opened at $42.32 on Monday. The business's 50 day moving average price is $43.15 and its 200-day moving average price is $42.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a current ratio of 0.61. The company has a market cap of $178.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.08, a PEG ratio of 3.14 and a beta of 0.38. Verizon Communications Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $37.59 and a fifty-two week high of $47.36.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.19 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.15 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $33.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.31 billion. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.66% and a net margin of 13.14%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The business 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. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 10th. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.40%. Verizon Communications's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 64.52%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Verizon Communications news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 9,000 shares of Verizon Communications stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.10, for a total transaction 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. The trade was a 47.35% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders sold 21,500 shares of company stock worth $938,400 in the last three months. 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).

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