Los Angeles Capital Management LLC Purchases 2,150,415 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Los Angeles Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 638.4% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 2,487,250 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after purchasing an additional 2,150,415 shares during the quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC owned approximately 0.06% of Verizon Communications worth $112,822,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of VZ. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. raised its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 81.0% during the first quarter. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. now owns 543 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 243 shares during the last quarter. Cherry Tree Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 71.8% during the first quarter. Cherry Tree Wealth Management LLC now owns 584 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 244 shares during the last quarter. Garde Capital Inc. bought a new stake in Verizon Communications in the first quarter valued at about $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 purchasing an additional 415 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Graney & King LLC bought a new stake in Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. Institutional investors own 62.06% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Verizon Communications news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 9,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.10, for a total transaction 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 approximately $441,352.80. This 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 accessible through this link. Over the last three months, insiders sold 21,500 shares of company stock worth $938,400. Insiders own 0.10% of the company's stock.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

NYSE VZ traded down $0.18 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $40.77. The company had a trading volume of 20,997,542 shares, compared to its average volume of 20,259,077. The company has a market capitalization of $171.90 billion, a PE ratio of 9.71, a P/E/G ratio of 3.28 and a beta of 0.37. The company has a current ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $42.88 and a 200-day moving average price of $42.42. Verizon Communications Inc. has a twelve month low of $37.59 and a twelve month high of $47.36.

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

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VZ has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on Verizon Communications in a report on Thursday, July 10th. They issued an "equal weight" rating and a $47.00 price target for the company. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Arete Research upgraded Verizon Communications to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Tigress Financial increased their price objective on Verizon Communications from $55.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, April 28th. Finally, Evercore ISI upgraded Verizon Communications from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $48.00 price objective for the company 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 assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $47.00.

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).