103,708 Shares in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Purchased by Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC

Key Points

• Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC has acquired 103,708 shares of Verizon Communications, valued at approximately $4.7 million, during the first quarter of the year.
• Verizon's recent earnings report showed an EPS of $1.22, surpassing analysts' expectations, with a revenue of $34.5 billion, indicating 5.2% year-over-year growth.
• The company recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.6775, yielding 6.28%, with a payout ratio of 63.17%.

Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 103,708 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock, valued at approximately $4,704,000.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its position in Verizon Communications by 61.2% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 43,986 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $1,759,000 after purchasing an additional 16,704 shares during the last quarter. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC lifted its position in Verizon Communications by 9.0% during the fourth quarter. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC now owns 67,741 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $2,709,000 after purchasing an additional 5,607 shares during the last quarter. TIAA Trust National Association lifted its position in Verizon Communications by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. TIAA Trust National Association now owns 136,999 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $5,478,000 after purchasing an additional 1,335 shares during the last quarter. UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp now owns 38,872 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $1,555,000 after acquiring an additional 311 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Financial Engines Advisors L.L.C. lifted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 70.2% in the 4th quarter. Financial Engines Advisors L.L.C. now owns 42,639 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $1,705,000 after acquiring an additional 17,580 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.06% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Tigress Financial boosted their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $55.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, April 28th. Finally, 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 research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Eleven 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 has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $47.35.

Insider Buying and Selling at Verizon Communications

In other news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 9,000 shares of the company'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 sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 10,008 shares of the company's stock, valued at $441,352.80. This represents a 47.35% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Verizon Communications Trading Up 0.0%

Verizon Communications stock traded up $0.02 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $43.10. 16,557,678 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 19,882,436. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 0.64 and a quick ratio of 0.58. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $42.86 and its 200 day moving average price is $42.51. The firm has a market capitalization of $181.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.05, a P/E/G ratio of 3.33 and a beta of 0.37. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52-week low of $37.58 and a 52-week high of $47.35.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 21st. The cell phone carrier reported $1.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.19 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $34.50 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $33.47 billion. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 13.28% and a return on equity of 19.61%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.15 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.29%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 10th. Verizon Communications's dividend payout ratio is presently 63.17%.

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).