Summit Trail Advisors LLC Increases Stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Summit Trail Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 12.4% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 118,825 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after buying an additional 13,123 shares during the period. Summit Trail Advisors LLC's holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $5,390,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of VZ. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. raised its holdings in Verizon Communications by 81.0% in the first quarter. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. now owns 543 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 243 shares in the last quarter. Cherry Tree Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of 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. purchased a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Mainstream Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, Mattson Financial Services LLC lifted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 114.6% during the 4th quarter. Mattson Financial Services LLC now owns 777 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 415 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.06% of the company's stock.

Verizon Communications Stock Up 2.3%

VZ stock opened at $43.30 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $182.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.14 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $43.15 and a 200 day moving average price of $42.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 0.61 and a quick ratio of 0.58. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12 month low of $37.59 and a 12 month high of $47.36.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.19 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.15 by $0.04. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 13.14% and a return on equity of 19.66%. The company had revenue of $33.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.31 billion. Sell-side analysts expect 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. Shareholders 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 6.26%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 10th. Verizon Communications's dividend payout ratio is presently 64.52%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have weighed in on VZ shares. Oppenheimer raised their price target on Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued a "sector perform" rating and set a $45.00 target price (up previously from $42.00) on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Tuesday, March 25th. Scotiabank boosted their target price on Verizon Communications from $48.50 to $49.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Wall Street Zen downgraded Verizon Communications from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, March 13th. Finally, Wolfe Research cut shares of Verizon Communications from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $47.41.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 9,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief executive officer owned 10,008 shares in the company, valued at $441,352.80. This represents a 47.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 21,500 shares of company stock worth $938,400. 0.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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).

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