Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC Grows Position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC boosted its position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 2.2% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 343,335 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after acquiring an additional 7,292 shares during the period. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC's holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $15,574,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Norges Bank bought a new position in Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter valued at $2,300,846,000. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. grew its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 3,601.6% in the 4th quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. now owns 8,937,180 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $357,398,000 after buying an additional 8,695,736 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 52.7% in the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 19,828,378 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $792,937,000 after acquiring an additional 6,846,514 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Verizon Communications by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 363,824,525 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $14,549,343,000 after buying an additional 5,697,337 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its position in Verizon Communications by 12.4% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 45,043,310 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $1,801,282,000 after buying an additional 4,951,733 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 62.06% of the company's stock.

Verizon Communications Trading Up 4.4%

Shares of VZ traded up $1.82 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $42.66. The stock had a trading volume of 35,107,339 shares, compared to its average volume of 20,323,659. The firm has a market cap of $179.84 billion, a PE ratio of 10.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.28 and a beta of 0.37. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1 year low of $37.59 and a 1 year high of $47.36. The stock's 50 day moving average is $42.88 and its 200 day moving average is $42.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 0.61 and a quick ratio of 0.58.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Monday, July 21st. The cell phone carrier reported $1.22 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.19 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $34.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $33.47 billion. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 13.14% and a return on equity of 19.66%. Verizon Communications's revenue for the quarter was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.15 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, July 10th will be issued a $0.6775 dividend. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.35%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 10th. Verizon Communications's payout ratio is presently 64.52%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have issued reports on VZ. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating and set a $45.00 target price (up previously from $42.00) on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Tuesday, March 25th. Morgan Stanley started coverage on Verizon Communications in a report on Thursday, July 10th. They issued an "equal weight" rating and a $47.00 price objective on the stock. Tigress Financial upped their price objective on Verizon Communications from $55.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, April 28th. 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. Finally, Evercore ISI upgraded 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 report on Friday, April 11th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Verizon Communications presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $47.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Verizon Communications news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 9,000 shares of Verizon Communications stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief executive officer owned 10,008 shares of the company's stock, valued at $441,352.80. The trade was a 47.35% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 21,500 shares of company stock valued at $938,400. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Verizon Communications 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).