Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Position Raised by Diversify Wealth Management LLC

Diversify Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 18.7% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 140,628 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after buying an additional 22,134 shares during the period. Diversify Wealth Management LLC's holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $6,040,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of VZ. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 61.2% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 43,986 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $1,759,000 after purchasing an additional 16,704 shares in the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC raised its position in Verizon Communications by 64.4% in the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 11,127 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $445,000 after purchasing an additional 4,360 shares in the last quarter. Cascade Financial Partners LLC acquired a new position in Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter worth about $219,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in Verizon Communications by 33.0% in the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 21,723 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $869,000 after purchasing an additional 5,391 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its position in Verizon Communications by 7.1% in the fourth quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 57,694 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $2,307,000 after purchasing an additional 3,837 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 62.06% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

VZ has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Evercore ISI raised shares of Verizon Communications from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $48.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Scotiabank boosted their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $48.50 to $49.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. Bank of America started coverage on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Monday. They set a "neutral" rating and a $45.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Tigress Financial upped their price target 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. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $47.00.

Verizon Communications Stock Down 1.4%

NYSE:VZ opened at $42.00 on Friday. 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 firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $43.18 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $42.35. Verizon Communications Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $37.59 and a fifty-two week high of $47.36. The firm has a market cap of $177.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.00, a P/E/G ratio of 3.42 and a beta of 0.37.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.19 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.15 by $0.04. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 13.14% and a return on equity of 19.66%. The business had revenue of $33.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.31 billion. Analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, July 10th will be paid a $0.6775 dividend. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.45%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 10th. Verizon Communications's dividend payout ratio is presently 64.52%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 9,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.10, for a total value 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. This trade represents a 47.35% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 21,500 shares of company stock worth $938,400. Company insiders own 0.10% of the company's stock.

Verizon Communications Company 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).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.