Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Shares Bought by 44 Wealth Management LLC

44 Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 10.3% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 80,979 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after acquiring an additional 7,576 shares during the quarter. Verizon Communications accounts for 1.4% of 44 Wealth Management LLC's holdings, making the stock its 7th biggest position. 44 Wealth Management LLC's holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $3,673,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. SimpliFi Inc. increased its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 1.1% in the first quarter. SimpliFi Inc. now owns 28,767 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $1,305,000 after acquiring an additional 299 shares during the period. Avantax Planning Partners Inc. increased its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 4.1% in the first quarter. Avantax Planning Partners Inc. now owns 202,605 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $9,190,000 after acquiring an additional 7,949 shares during the period. Calamos Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the first quarter worth $209,000. Calamos Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 1.1% in the first quarter. Calamos Advisors LLC now owns 770,800 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $34,963,000 after acquiring an additional 8,495 shares during the period. Finally, Cohen Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 4.6% in the first quarter. Cohen Investment Advisors LLC now owns 64,561 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $2,928,000 after acquiring an additional 2,812 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.06% of the company's stock.

Verizon Communications Trading Up 0.1%

Shares of Verizon Communications stock traded up $0.03 on Friday, reaching $43.62. The company had a trading volume of 10,301,320 shares, compared to its average volume of 20,131,578. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $43.23 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $42.29. The firm has a market cap of $183.91 billion, a PE ratio of 10.39, a PEG ratio of 3.23 and a beta of 0.37. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52-week low of $37.59 and a 52-week high of $47.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a current ratio of 0.61.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 net margin of 13.14% and a return on equity of 19.66%. Sell-side analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, July 10th will be issued a $0.6775 dividend. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.21%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 10th. Verizon Communications's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 64.52%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Verizon Communications

In related news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 9,000 shares of Verizon Communications stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.10, for a total value of $396,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 10,008 shares in the company, valued at approximately $441,352.80. The trade was a 47.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders have sold a total of 21,500 shares of company stock valued at $938,400 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.10% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Wolfe Research lowered shares of Verizon Communications from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Verizon Communications from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $48.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Scotiabank raised 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 raised their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. Finally, Tigress Financial lifted their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $55.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $47.25.

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).