Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) is Equity Investment Corp's 2nd Largest Position

Equity Investment Corp boosted its stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 10.5% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,471,691 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after buying an additional 426,212 shares during the period. Verizon Communications makes up approximately 4.5% of Equity Investment Corp's portfolio, making the stock its 2nd biggest position. Equity Investment Corp owned about 0.10% of Verizon Communications worth $202,836,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of VZ. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. grew its position in Verizon Communications by 81.0% in the 1st quarter. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. now owns 543 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 243 shares in the last quarter. Garde Capital Inc. purchased a new stake in Verizon Communications during the first quarter worth approximately $26,000. Cherry Tree Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Verizon Communications by 71.8% during the first quarter. Cherry Tree Wealth Management LLC now owns 584 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 244 shares during the last quarter. EQ Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Verizon Communications during the first quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, Mattson Financial Services LLC lifted its stake in Verizon Communications by 114.6% during the fourth quarter. Mattson Financial Services LLC now owns 777 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 415 shares during the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have commented on VZ shares. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued a "sector perform" rating and issued a $45.00 target price (up previously from $42.00) on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Bank of America assumed coverage on Verizon Communications in a report on Monday, July 7th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $45.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Tigress Financial boosted their target price on Verizon Communications from $55.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, April 28th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $47.00.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 9,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.10, for a total value of $396,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 10,008 shares in the company, valued at approximately $441,352.80. This trade represents a 47.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders sold a total of 21,500 shares of company stock valued at $938,400 in the last ninety days. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Verizon Communications Trading Down 0.2%

NYSE:VZ traded down $0.10 on Friday, hitting $40.86. 7,381,557 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 20,177,841. The stock has a market cap of $172.25 billion, a PE ratio of 9.73, a PEG ratio of 3.31 and a beta of 0.37. The company has a current ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $42.94 and a 200-day moving average of $42.40. Verizon Communications Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $37.59 and a fifty-two week high of $47.36.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last posted its 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. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.66% and a net margin of 13.14%. The business had revenue of $33.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.31 billion. As a group, equities analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 10th. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.63%. Verizon Communications's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 64.52%.

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).