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Pacer Advisors Inc. Purchases 10,300,369 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Verizon Communications logo with Computer and Technology background

Key Points

  • Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Verizon Communications Inc. by 737.5%, acquiring an additional 10,300,369 shares, bringing its total ownership to approximately 11.7 million shares.
  • The Chief Executive Officer, Kyle Malady, sold 9,000 shares, reducing his stake in the company by over 47% and leaving him with about 10,008 shares valued at approximately $441,352.80.
  • Verizon has declared a quarterly dividend of $0.6775 per share, which will be paid on August 1, translating to an annualized dividend yield of 6.29%.
  • Five stocks to consider instead of Verizon Communications.
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Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 737.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 11,697,003 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after acquiring an additional 10,300,369 shares during the quarter. Verizon Communications accounts for 1.2% of Pacer Advisors Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 10th biggest position. Pacer Advisors Inc. owned 0.28% of Verizon Communications worth $530,576,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. grew its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 81.0% during the 1st quarter. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. now owns 543 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 243 shares in the last quarter. Cherry Tree Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 71.8% during the 1st quarter. Cherry Tree Wealth Management LLC now owns 584 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 244 shares in the last quarter. Garde Capital Inc. bought a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the 1st quarter worth approximately $26,000. Mattson Financial Services LLC grew its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 114.6% during the 4th quarter. Mattson Financial Services LLC now owns 777 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 415 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Graney & King LLC bought a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. 62.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Verizon Communications

In other news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 9,000 shares of the business'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 directly 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.10% of the company's stock.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

Shares of VZ traded up $0.02 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $43.10. 16,557,678 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 19,882,436. Verizon Communications Inc. has a twelve month low of $37.58 and a twelve month high of $47.35. The company has a quick ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19. The company has a market cap of $181.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.05, a PEG ratio of 3.33 and a beta of 0.37. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $42.86 and its 200 day simple moving average is $42.51.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 21st. The cell phone carrier reported $1.22 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.19 by $0.03. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.61% and a net margin of 13.28%. The company 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. Verizon Communications's revenue was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.6775 per share. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.29%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 10th. Verizon Communications's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 63.17%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VZ has been the subject of several research reports. Evercore ISI raised shares of 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. Tigress Financial raised their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $55.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Tuesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Scotiabank raised their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $48.50 to $49.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $47.35.

View Our Latest Research Report on VZ

About Verizon Communications

(Free Report)

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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Institutional Ownership by Quarter for Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ)

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