Valley Wealth Managers Inc. Has $24.93 Million Stock Position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Key Points

• Valley Wealth Managers Inc. increased its stake in Verizon Communications Inc. by 4.7%, acquiring an additional 24,427 shares, bringing its total holdings to 549,495 shares valued at approximately $24.9 million.
• CEO Kyle Malady sold 9,000 shares of Verizon, reducing his ownership by 47.35% and indicating potential concerns among company insiders.
• Verizon posted strong quarterly earnings, reporting $1.22 EPS and revenue of $34.5 billion, which surpassed analysts' expectations.

Valley Wealth Managers Inc. boosted its holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 4.7% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 549,495 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after acquiring an additional 24,427 shares during the quarter. Verizon Communications comprises about 1.9% of Valley Wealth Managers Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 11th biggest holding. Valley Wealth Managers Inc.'s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $24,925,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of VZ. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Verizon Communications by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 96,823,092 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $3,862,441,000 after acquiring an additional 998,847 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in Verizon Communications by 12.4% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 45,043,310 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $1,801,282,000 after acquiring an additional 4,951,733 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its stake in Verizon Communications by 13.3% during the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 38,893,487 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $1,555,351,000 after acquiring an additional 4,568,518 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 36,851,192 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $1,473,557,000 after buying an additional 990,775 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada grew its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 5.2% in the 4th quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 27,418,052 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $1,096,447,000 after buying an additional 1,348,389 shares in the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Tigress Financial boosted 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. Bank of America boosted their price target on Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. 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. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Verizon Communications from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $47.35.

Verizon Communications Trading Up 0.0%

Verizon Communications stock traded up $0.02 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $43.10. The stock had a trading volume of 16,557,678 shares, compared to its average volume of 19,882,436. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $42.86 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $42.54. The stock has a market capitalization of $181.70 billion, a PE ratio of 10.05, a P/E/G ratio of 3.33 and a beta of 0.37. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12 month low of $37.58 and a 12 month high of $47.35. The company has a current ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 21st. The cell phone carrier reported $1.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.19 by $0.03. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.61% and a net margin of 13.28%. The business had revenue of $34.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $33.47 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.15 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast 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. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 10th will be given a dividend of $0.6775 per share. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.29%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 10th. Verizon Communications's dividend payout ratio is currently 63.17%.

Insider Activity at Verizon Communications

In other news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 9,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.10, for a total transaction of $396,900.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 10,008 shares of the company's stock, valued at $441,352.80. This trade represents a 47.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 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).