LPL Financial LLC Grows Stock Holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Key Points

• LPL Financial LLC increased its holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. by 1.2% in the first quarter, owning approximately 7,994,580 shares valued at $362.6 million.
• Verizon Communications reported $1.22 EPS for the last quarter, exceeding estimates of $1.19, with revenues rising 5.2% year-over-year to $34.5 billion.
• The company recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.6775 per share, with a total annualized yield of 6.29% for shareholders of record as of July 10th.

LPL Financial LLC grew its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 1.2% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 7,994,580 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after purchasing an additional 98,430 shares during the period. LPL Financial LLC owned approximately 0.19% of Verizon Communications worth $362,634,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Brighton Jones LLC increased its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 61.2% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 43,986 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $1,759,000 after buying an additional 16,704 shares during the last quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter valued at about $218,000. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC boosted its position in Verizon Communications by 6.6% in the 4th quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 176,397 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $7,054,000 after buying an additional 10,873 shares during the period. RiverFront Investment Group LLC boosted its position in Verizon Communications by 17.3% in the 4th quarter. RiverFront Investment Group LLC now owns 9,086 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $363,000 after buying an additional 1,340 shares during the period. Finally, Maridea Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter valued at about $248,000. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Verizon Communications Stock Up 0.0%

VZ stock opened at $43.10 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $181.70 billion, a PE ratio of 10.05, a P/E/G ratio of 3.33 and a beta of 0.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a current ratio of 0.64. The firm's fifty day moving average is $42.86 and its 200 day moving average is $42.56. Verizon Communications Inc. has a one year low of $37.58 and a one year high of $47.35.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 21st. The cell phone carrier reported $1.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 revenue was up 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.15 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.29%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 10th. Verizon Communications's payout ratio is 63.17%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VZ has been the subject of several research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Scotiabank raised their price objective 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. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on 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 target on Verizon Communications from $55.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Finally, Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Verizon Communications currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $47.35.

Insider Transactions at Verizon Communications

In other Verizon Communications news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 9,000 shares of the 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 transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 10,008 shares of the company's stock, valued at $441,352.80. This trade represents a 47.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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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