Trek Financial LLC Buys New Stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Trek Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 8,907 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock, valued at approximately $404,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Brighton Jones LLC increased its holdings in Verizon Communications by 61.2% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 43,986 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $1,759,000 after buying an additional 16,704 shares during the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 64.4% in the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 11,127 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $445,000 after purchasing an additional 4,360 shares during the period. Davis R M Inc. lifted its stake in Verizon Communications by 6.6% in the 4th quarter. Davis R M Inc. now owns 34,397 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $1,376,000 after acquiring an additional 2,141 shares in the last quarter. Sage Mountain Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 9.2% during the 4th quarter. Sage Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 14,901 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $596,000 after purchasing an additional 1,255 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Natural Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter worth approximately $463,000. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VZ has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Wall Street Zen cut Verizon Communications from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday. Evercore ISI raised Verizon Communications from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $48.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Arete Research raised Verizon Communications to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Tigress Financial raised their target price on Verizon Communications from $55.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, April 28th. 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $47.00.

Verizon Communications Trading Down 0.8%

Shares of Verizon Communications stock traded down $0.33 on Friday, hitting $41.71. 9,169,949 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 22,102,611. The company has a market cap of $175.84 billion, a PE ratio of 9.93, a PEG ratio of 3.42 and a beta of 0.37. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52 week low of $37.58 and a 52 week high of $47.35. The company has a current ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $43.18 and its 200-day moving average price is $42.35.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.15 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $33.50 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $33.31 billion. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.66% and a net margin of 13.14%. Equities research analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 10th will be issued a $0.6775 dividend. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.50%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 10th. Verizon Communications's payout ratio is 64.52%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 9,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.10, for a total value of $396,900.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 10,008 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $441,352.80. This trade represents a 47.35% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders have sold 21,500 shares of company stock valued at $938,400 over the last 90 days. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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).