Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Shares Bought by J.W. Cole Advisors Inc.

J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 56.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 323,773 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after acquiring an additional 116,284 shares during the quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc.'s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $14,686,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of VZ. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. increased its holdings 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 buying an additional 243 shares during the last quarter. Cherry Tree Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Verizon Communications by 71.8% in the first quarter. Cherry Tree Wealth Management LLC now owns 584 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 244 shares during the last quarter. Garde Capital Inc. purchased a new position in Verizon Communications in the first quarter valued at $26,000. Mattson Financial Services LLC increased its holdings in 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 buying an additional 415 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Graney & King LLC acquired a new position in Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.06% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 9,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 7th. The shares were 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 owned 10,008 shares in the company, valued at $441,352.80. This trade represents a 47.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Insiders have sold a total of 21,500 shares of company stock valued at $938,400 in the last three months. 0.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

NYSE:VZ traded down $0.18 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $40.77. The stock had a trading volume of 20,997,542 shares, compared to its average volume of 20,259,077. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $171.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.71, a PEG ratio of 3.28 and a beta of 0.37. Verizon Communications Inc. has a twelve month low of $37.59 and a twelve month high of $47.36. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $42.88 and a 200 day simple moving average of $42.42.

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

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, July 10th will be given a $0.6775 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 10th. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.65%. Verizon Communications's payout ratio is currently 64.52%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. They issued an "equal weight" rating and a $47.00 price objective for the company. 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. Arete Research upgraded shares of Verizon Communications to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Verizon Communications from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $48.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada restated a "sector perform" rating and issued a $45.00 price objective (up previously from $42.00) on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Tuesday, March 25th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Verizon Communications presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target 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).