Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Position Raised by Richard C. Young & CO. LTD.

Richard C. Young & CO. LTD. increased its holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 1.9% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 370,669 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after buying an additional 7,071 shares during the period. Verizon Communications comprises about 1.8% of Richard C. Young & CO. LTD.'s holdings, making the stock its 22nd largest position. Richard C. Young & CO. LTD.'s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $16,814,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. raised 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 purchasing an additional 243 shares during the last quarter. Cherry Tree Wealth Management LLC raised 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 purchasing an additional 244 shares during the last quarter. Garde Capital Inc. acquired a new position in Verizon Communications in the 1st quarter valued at about $26,000. Mattson Financial Services LLC raised its stake in Verizon Communications by 114.6% in the 4th 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 acquired a new position in Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Verizon Communications

In related news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 9,000 shares of the firm's 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 transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 10,008 shares in the company, valued at $441,352.80. This trade represents a 47.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders sold 21,500 shares of company stock worth $938,400 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.10% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently commented on VZ shares. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating and set a $45.00 price objective (up previously from $42.00) on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Tuesday, March 25th. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. Evercore ISI raised shares of Verizon Communications from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $48.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Tigress Financial upped their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $55.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Finally, Scotiabank increased their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $48.50 to $49.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $47.00.

Verizon Communications Stock Down 0.7%

Shares of Verizon Communications stock traded down $0.29 on Thursday, hitting $40.96. 18,385,820 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 20,227,166. The stock has a market cap of $172.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.75, a PEG ratio of 3.31 and a beta of 0.37. The company has a quick ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 0.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19. The firm's 50-day moving average is $42.99 and its 200 day moving average is $42.39. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52-week low of $37.59 and a 52-week high of $47.36.

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

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, July 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.6775 per share. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.62%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 10th. Verizon Communications's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 64.52%.

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).