Portland Financial Advisors Inc Makes New Investment in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Key Points

• Portland Financial Advisors Inc has acquired a new position in Verizon Communications, purchasing 6,020 shares valued at approximately $273,000.
• CEO Kyle Malady sold 9,000 shares of Verizon at an average price of $44.10, reducing his ownership by 47.35%.
• Verizon announced a quarterly dividend of $0.6775 per share, set to be paid on August 1st, reflecting an annualized yield of 6.35%.

Portland Financial Advisors Inc purchased a new position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 6,020 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock, valued at approximately $273,000.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brighton Jones LLC grew its position in Verizon Communications by 61.2% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 43,986 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $1,759,000 after acquiring an additional 16,704 shares in the last quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC bought a new position in Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter valued at about $218,000. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 188,757 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $7,350,000 after buying an additional 6,432 shares during the last quarter. Summit Financial LLC increased its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 41.0% during the 4th quarter. Summit Financial LLC now owns 69,525 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $2,780,000 after acquiring an additional 20,214 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 12.7% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 10,450,058 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $417,897,000 after purchasing an additional 1,177,478 shares during the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

NYSE VZ traded down $0.06 on Wednesday, hitting $42.65. 13,276,850 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 19,105,686. The company has a market capitalization of $179.83 billion, a PE ratio of 9.94, a P/E/G ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 0.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 0.64 and a quick ratio of 0.60. The business's fifty day moving average is $42.77 and its 200 day moving average is $42.59. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52 week low of $37.58 and a 52 week high of $47.35.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last issued its 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. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 13.28% and a return on equity of 19.61%. The company had revenue of $34.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $33.47 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.15 EPS. Verizon Communications's quarterly revenue was up 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared 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 6.35%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 10th. Verizon Communications's dividend payout ratio is 63.17%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on VZ. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective on Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Arete Research raised Verizon Communications to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Verizon Communications from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $47.35.

Insider Buying and Selling

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 value 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 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 can be accessed through this link. 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).