Sweeney & Michel LLC Takes $4.16 Million Position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Sweeney & Michel LLC purchased a new position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 98,742 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock, valued at approximately $4,164,000. Verizon Communications makes up 1.7% of Sweeney & Michel LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 18th largest holding.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Mainstream Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Mattson Financial Services LLC grew its position 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 valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 415 shares in the last quarter. Graney & King LLC bought a new stake in Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. Capital A Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Compass Financial Services Inc purchased a new position in Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. Institutional investors own 62.06% of the company's stock.

Verizon Communications Stock Down 0.5%

VZ traded down $0.24 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $43.87. The stock had a trading volume of 13,134,591 shares, compared to its average volume of 20,039,622. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $43.57 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $42.24. 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 twelve month low of $37.59 and a twelve month high of $47.36. The company has a market capitalization of $184.95 billion, a PE ratio of 10.60, a PEG ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.39.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have issued reports on VZ. Scotiabank raised their price objective 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. Evercore ISI upgraded Verizon Communications from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $48.00 target price for the company in a report on Friday, April 11th. Tigress Financial raised their price target on Verizon Communications from $55.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Verizon Communications from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, March 13th. Nine equities research 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $47.41.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 7,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.88, for a total value of $329,100.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 19,008 shares of the company's stock, valued at $834,071.04. This represents a 28.29% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 21,500 shares of company stock valued at $938,400. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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).