Liberty Wealth Management LLC Has $739,000 Holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Key Points

• Liberty Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Verizon Communications by 86.4%, acquiring an additional 7,550 shares to total 16,285 shares worth $739,000.
• Verizon's CEO, Kyle Malady, sold 9,000 shares at an average price of $44.10, decreasing his ownership by 47.35%.
• The company reported a 5.2% year-over-year increase in quarterly revenue, achieving $34.50 billion with an earnings per share (EPS) of $1.22, exceeding analyst estimates.

Liberty Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 86.4% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 16,285 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after acquiring an additional 7,550 shares during the quarter. Liberty Wealth Management LLC's holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $739,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. raised its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 81.0% during the 1st quarter. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. now owns 543 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 243 shares in the last quarter. Cherry Tree Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Verizon Communications by 71.8% in the 1st 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. acquired a new stake in Verizon Communications in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Mattson Financial Services LLC grew its holdings in Verizon Communications by 114.6% in the 4th 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, Capital A Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 9,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

Shares of Verizon Communications stock opened at $42.84 on Monday. Verizon Communications Inc. has a one year low of $37.58 and a one year high of $47.35. The firm has a market capitalization of $180.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.99, a PEG ratio of 3.31 and a beta of 0.36. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $42.75 and a 200 day simple moving average of $42.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 0.64 and a quick ratio of 0.60.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $33.47 billion. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.61% and a net margin of 13.28%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.15 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 10th were issued a $0.6775 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 10th. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.3%. Verizon Communications's dividend payout ratio is currently 63.17%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on VZ shares. Arete Research upgraded Verizon Communications to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Scotiabank boosted their price target on Verizon Communications from $48.50 to $49.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. 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 note on Friday, April 11th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Finally, Bank of America boosted their target price on Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Verizon Communications presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $47.35.

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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