Rowlandmiller & PARTNERS.ADV Increases Stock Position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Rowlandmiller & PARTNERS.ADV boosted its position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 5.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 176,021 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after acquiring an additional 8,410 shares during the quarter. Verizon Communications accounts for 1.7% of Rowlandmiller & PARTNERS.ADV's holdings, making the stock its 18th largest holding. Rowlandmiller & PARTNERS.ADV's holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $7,984,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Mainstream Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Mattson Financial Services LLC grew its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 114.6% during the fourth quarter. Mattson Financial Services LLC now owns 777 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 415 shares during the last quarter. Graney & King LLC bought a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Capital A Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Finally, Banque Transatlantique SA bought a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter worth $35,000. 62.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on VZ. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating and set a $45.00 target price (up previously from $42.00) on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Tuesday, March 25th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Verizon Communications from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. Tigress Financial boosted their target price 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. Wolfe Research cut shares of Verizon Communications from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Finally, Scotiabank boosted 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 note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $47.41.

Verizon Communications Trading Down 1.4%

VZ stock traded down $0.61 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $43.13. The stock had a trading volume of 22,343,482 shares, compared to its average volume of 20,075,659. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $43.41 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $42.30. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1-year low of $37.59 and a 1-year high of $47.36. The firm has a market cap of $181.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a current ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.19 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.15 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $33.50 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $33.31 billion. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 12.99% and a return on equity of 19.80%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 10th will be given a $0.6775 dividend. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.28%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 10th. Verizon Communications's payout ratio is 64.52%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Verizon Communications

In related news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 9,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 10,008 shares in the company, valued at approximately $441,352.80. This represents a 47.35% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders have sold a total of 21,500 shares of company stock worth $938,400 over the last three months. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by 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).