Mediolanum International Funds Ltd Boosts Position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Key Points

• Mediolanum International Funds Ltd increased its stake in Verizon Communications by 169.5%, acquiring an additional 147,414 shares, bringing its total holdings to 234,409 shares valued at approximately $10.5 million.
• Several analysts have upgraded their ratings on Verizon, with Evercore ISI setting a price target of $48.00 and Oppenheimer raising it to $50.00, indicating a more favorable outlook for the stock.
• Verizon has declared a quarterly dividend of $0.6775 per share, resulting in an annualized dividend yield of 6.29%, further highlighting its commitment to returning value to shareholders.

Mediolanum International Funds Ltd increased its holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 169.5% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 234,409 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after acquiring an additional 147,414 shares during the quarter. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd's holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $10,532,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of VZ. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. increased its stake in Verizon Communications by 81.0% in the 1st quarter. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. now owns 543 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 243 shares during the period. Cherry Tree Wealth Management LLC increased its stake 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 period. Garde Capital Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the 1st quarter worth $26,000. Mattson Financial Services LLC grew its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 114.6% during the 4th quarter. Mattson Financial Services LLC now owns 777 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 415 shares during the period. Finally, Capital A Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter worth $32,000. 62.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Verizon Communications

In other news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 9,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at $441,352.80. This represents a 47.35% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Verizon Communications Trading Up 0.1%

Shares of VZ stock traded up $0.05 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $42.76. 4,462,553 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 21,962,496. The firm has a market cap of $180.27 billion, a PE ratio of 9.97, a PEG ratio of 3.27 and a beta of 0.37. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1 year low of $37.58 and a 1 year high of $47.35. The company has a quick ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $42.79 and a 200 day moving average of $42.59.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 21st. The cell phone carrier reported $1.22 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.19 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $34.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.15 EPS. Analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.6775 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 10th. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.34%. Verizon Communications's payout ratio is currently 63.17%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VZ has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Tigress Financial upped their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $55.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, April 28th. 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 note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Verizon Communications from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday. Finally, Arete Research raised shares of Verizon Communications to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Eleven research 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 currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $47.35.

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).