Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Stock Holdings Increased by Demars Financial Group LLC

Demars Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 18.9% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 738,673 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after buying an additional 117,201 shares during the period. Demars Financial Group LLC's holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $33,506,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Kercheville Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Verizon Communications in the 1st quarter valued at about $253,000. Vicus Capital purchased a new stake in Verizon Communications during the first quarter worth $551,000. Inscription Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the first quarter valued at $978,000. Stephens Consulting LLC lifted its position in Verizon Communications by 23.6% during the first quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC now owns 1,695 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $77,000 after buying an additional 324 shares during the period. Finally, Grove Bank & Trust raised its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 21.4% in the 1st quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 9,926 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $450,000 after purchasing an additional 1,750 shares during the period. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 9,000 shares of Verizon Communications stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.10, for a total transaction of $396,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 10,008 shares of the company's stock, 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 can be accessed through this link. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 21,500 shares of company stock valued at $938,400. Corporate insiders own 0.10% of the company's stock.

Verizon Communications Trading Down 0.1%

VZ stock traded down $0.03 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $41.83. The company's stock had a trading volume of 4,575,415 shares, compared to its average volume of 20,065,240. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1 year low of $37.59 and a 1 year 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. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $43.42 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $42.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $176.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.96, a PEG ratio of 3.15 and a beta of 0.38.

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

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

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 paid a $0.6775 dividend. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.48%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 10th. Verizon Communications's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 64.52%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Wall Street Zen lowered Verizon Communications from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. Evercore ISI upgraded Verizon Communications from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $48.00 price target for the company in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Oppenheimer upped their price target on Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Wolfe Research lowered Verizon Communications from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. Finally, Tigress Financial raised their price target on Verizon Communications from $55.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $47.41.

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).