Stephens Inc. AR Has $13.18 Million Stock Position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Stephens Inc. AR lowered its position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 5.3% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 290,663 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after selling 16,419 shares during the period. Stephens Inc. AR's holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $13,184,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of VZ. Crescent Sterling Ltd. raised its stake in Verizon Communications by 0.8% during the first quarter. Crescent Sterling Ltd. now owns 30,906 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $1,402,000 after acquiring an additional 235 shares in the last quarter. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. increased its position in Verizon Communications by 81.0% during the 1st quarter. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. now owns 543 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 243 shares in the last quarter. Cherry Tree Wealth Management LLC lifted 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. NCM Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Verizon Communications by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. NCM Capital Management LLC now owns 18,390 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $735,000 after buying an additional 245 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CRA Financial Services LLC grew its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 3.7% during the first quarter. CRA Financial Services LLC now owns 6,913 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $314,000 after buying an additional 246 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.06% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Verizon Communications

In related news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 9,000 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In the last three months, insiders have sold 21,500 shares of company stock valued at $938,400. Insiders own 0.10% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VZ has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Monday, July 7th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $45.00 price target for the company. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating and issued a $45.00 price objective (up previously from $42.00) on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Tuesday, March 25th. Finally, Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Verizon Communications from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $48.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $47.00.

Verizon Communications Trading Down 0.0%

VZ traded down $0.01 during trading on Monday, reaching $41.61. 15,751,473 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 22,143,689. The stock's 50-day moving average is $43.14 and its 200 day moving average is $42.39. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12 month low of $37.58 and a 12 month high of $47.35. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $175.42 billion, a PE ratio of 9.91, a P/E/G ratio of 3.34 and a beta of 0.37.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.19 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.15 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $33.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.31 billion. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.66% and a net margin of 13.14%. Equities 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 10th will be given a dividend of $0.6775 per share. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.51%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 10th. Verizon Communications's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 64.52%.

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).