10,042 Shares in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Acquired by LifeWealth Investments LLC

LifeWealth Investments LLC purchased a new position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 10,042 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock, valued at approximately $402,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Mainstream Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Graney & King LLC purchased a new position in Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. Capital A Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. Compass Financial Services Inc purchased a new position in Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, Banque Transatlantique SA purchased a new position in Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter valued at $35,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.06% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have commented on VZ shares. Wall Street Zen lowered Verizon Communications from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. Evercore ISI raised Verizon Communications from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $48.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Friday, April 11th. DZ Bank raised Verizon Communications from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $40.00 price target for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Scotiabank lifted their price target on Verizon Communications from $48.50 to $49.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Oppenheimer lifted their price target on Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $47.41.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

NYSE VZ traded up $0.07 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $43.20. The company's stock had a trading volume of 4,212,515 shares, compared to its average volume of 23,326,762. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12 month low of $37.58 and a 12 month high of $47.35. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $43.57 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $42.17. The company has a market cap of $182.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 0.63 and a quick ratio of 0.59.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.15 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $33.50 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $33.31 billion. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.80% and a net margin of 12.99%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 10th were paid a dividend of $0.6775 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.27%. Verizon Communications's dividend payout ratio is currently 64.52%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Verizon Communications

In related news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 7,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.88, for a total transaction of $329,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 19,008 shares in the company, valued at approximately $834,071.04. The trade was a 28.29% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders sold a total of 21,500 shares of company stock worth $938,400 in the last three months. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

About Verizon Communications

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).