Strategic Wealth Partners Ltd. Buys 71,155 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Strategic Wealth Partners Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 75.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 165,494 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after purchasing an additional 71,155 shares during the period. Strategic Wealth Partners Ltd.'s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $6,792,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Mainstream Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Graney & King LLC purchased a new position in Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. Compass Financial Services Inc bought a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter worth $33,000. Banque Transatlantique SA purchased a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter valued at $35,000. Finally, Hager Investment Management Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter worth $38,000. Institutional investors own 62.06% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Verizon Communications 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 10,008 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $441,352.80. This trade represents a 47.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Vandana Venkatesh sold 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.79, for a total transaction of $437,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,459 shares in the company, valued at $633,159.61. This represents a 40.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 31,500 shares of company stock valued at $1,376,300 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.10% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Wolfe Research downgraded Verizon Communications from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their target price on Verizon Communications from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Argus upgraded shares of Verizon Communications to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Evercore ISI upgraded 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 report on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Scotiabank increased their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $48.50 to $49.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Nine equities research 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $47.41.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

Shares of VZ stock opened at $43.97 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a current ratio of 0.63. Verizon Communications Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $37.59 and a fifty-two week high of $47.36. The firm has a market cap of $185.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.62, a P/E/G ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.39. The business's 50 day moving average price is $43.58 and its 200-day moving average price is $42.04.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.19 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.15 by $0.04. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 12.99% and a return on equity of 19.80%. The business had revenue of $33.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $33.31 billion. On average, equities 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, April 10th were given a dividend of $0.6775 per share. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.16%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 10th. Verizon Communications's dividend payout ratio is currently 64.52%.

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).

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