Retirement Guys Formula LLC Purchases 22,537 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Retirement Guys Formula LLC increased its position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 439.1% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 27,669 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after buying an additional 22,537 shares during the period. Retirement Guys Formula LLC's holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $1,251,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. lifted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 81.0% in the first quarter. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. now owns 543 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 243 shares during the last quarter. Cherry Tree Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings 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 worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 244 shares during the period. Garde Capital Inc. acquired a new position in Verizon Communications during the 1st quarter worth $26,000. Mainstream Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, Mattson Financial Services LLC boosted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 114.6% during the fourth quarter. Mattson Financial Services LLC now owns 777 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 415 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 62.06% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 5,000 shares of Verizon Communications stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.48, for a total value of $212,400.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 36,508 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,550,859.84. This trade represents a 12.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 21,500 shares of company stock worth $938,400. Company insiders own 0.10% of the company's stock.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

NYSE:VZ opened at $42.35 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $43.28 and a 200 day simple moving average of $42.21. The stock has a market cap of $178.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.08, a PEG ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.38. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1-year low of $37.59 and a 1-year high of $47.36. The company has a current ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results 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 company had revenue of $33.50 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $33.31 billion. Research analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced 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. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.40%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 10th. Verizon Communications's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 64.52%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on VZ shares. Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. Evercore ISI upgraded Verizon Communications from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $48.00 price target for the company in a report on Friday, April 11th. Wall Street Zen cut Verizon Communications from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. Scotiabank upped their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $48.50 to $49.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Tigress Financial raised their target price on Verizon Communications from $55.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $47.41.

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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