6,341 Shares in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Acquired by Spartan Planning & Wealth Management

Spartan Planning & Wealth Management bought a new position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm bought 6,341 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock, valued at approximately $288,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Roffman Miller Associates Inc. PA increased its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Roffman Miller Associates Inc. PA now owns 382,678 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $15,303,000 after acquiring an additional 6,795 shares during the period. BridgePort Financial Solutions LLC purchased a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter valued at $381,000. Global Wealth Management Investment Advisory Inc. bought a new position in Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter worth about $4,333,000. Private Advisor Group LLC lifted its position in Verizon Communications by 64.6% during the fourth quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 1,394,921 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $55,783,000 after acquiring an additional 547,384 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Axis Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter valued at $1,200,000. 62.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

VZ stock traded up $0.59 on Friday, reaching $43.92. 26,553,530 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 20,100,127. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $43.57 and a 200-day moving average of $42.22. The firm has a market cap of $185.18 billion, a PE ratio of 10.61, a P/E/G ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a quick ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. Verizon Communications Inc. has a twelve month low of $37.59 and a twelve month high of $47.36.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly 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. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.80% and a net margin of 12.99%. The business had revenue of $33.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.31 billion. As a group, equities analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on VZ shares. Wolfe Research lowered Verizon Communications from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. Scotiabank lifted their price target on Verizon Communications from $48.50 to $49.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. Wall Street Zen downgraded Verizon Communications from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. Finally, Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Verizon Communications from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $48.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $47.41.

Insider Buying and Selling at Verizon Communications

In other Verizon Communications news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 7,500 shares of Verizon Communications stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.88, for a total value of $329,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 19,008 shares in the company, valued at $834,071.04. The trade was a 28.29% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Insiders have sold 21,500 shares of company stock valued at $938,400 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.10% of the company's stock.

Verizon Communications 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).