UMB Bank n.a. Buys 6,771 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

UMB Bank n.a. grew its stake in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 6.8% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 105,944 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after acquiring an additional 6,771 shares during the quarter. UMB Bank n.a.'s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $4,806,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Sivia Capital Partners LLC raised its holdings in Verizon Communications by 4.4% in the 1st quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 9,794 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $444,000 after acquiring an additional 413 shares during the last quarter. Perkins Coie Trust Co increased its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 74.9% in the 1st quarter. Perkins Coie Trust Co now owns 2,979 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $135,000 after purchasing an additional 1,276 shares in the last quarter. WealthBridge Investment Counsel Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 0.4% in the 1st quarter. WealthBridge Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 131,800 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $5,978,000 after purchasing an additional 550 shares in the last quarter. Persium Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 5.9% in the first quarter. Persium Advisors LLC now owns 17,337 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $786,000 after purchasing an additional 968 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Compton Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the first quarter worth $203,000. Institutional investors own 62.06% of the company's stock.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

NYSE VZ opened at $43.82 on Monday. The business's fifty day moving average is $43.44 and its 200 day moving average is $42.28. Verizon Communications Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $37.59 and a fifty-two week high of $47.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a current ratio of 0.63. The company has a market capitalization of $184.76 billion, a PE ratio of 10.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.38.

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, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.15 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $33.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $33.31 billion. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.80% and a net margin of 12.99%. Sell-side analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 10th will be paid a $0.6775 dividend. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.18%. Verizon Communications's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 64.52%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.48, for a total transaction of $212,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 36,508 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,550,859.84. This trade represents a 12.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders have sold 21,500 shares of company stock worth $938,400 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.10% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Tigress Financial increased their price objective on Verizon Communications from $55.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Scotiabank lifted their price target 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. Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Verizon Communications from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, March 13th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating and issued a $45.00 target price (up previously from $42.00) on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Tuesday, March 25th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $47.41.

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).

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