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

Diversify Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 18.7% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 140,628 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after acquiring an additional 22,134 shares during the period. Diversify Wealth Management LLC's holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $6,040,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. raised its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 81.0% in 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 boosted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 71.8% in the 1st quarter. Cherry Tree Wealth Management LLC now owns 584 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 244 shares during the last quarter. Garde Capital Inc. purchased a new position in Verizon Communications in the first quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Mattson Financial Services LLC lifted its stake in Verizon Communications by 114.6% in the fourth quarter. Mattson Financial Services LLC now owns 777 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 415 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Graney & King LLC bought a new stake in Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Institutional investors own 62.06% of the company's stock.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE VZ traded down $0.40 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $41.63. The company had a trading volume of 20,156,157 shares, compared to its average volume of 20,209,684. The stock has a market cap of $175.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.91, a P/E/G ratio of 3.37 and a beta of 0.37. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1 year low of $37.59 and a 1 year high of $47.36. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $43.14 and its 200 day simple moving average is $42.36. The company has a current ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.19 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.15 by $0.04. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 13.14% and a return on equity of 19.66%. The company had revenue of $33.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.31 billion. On average, analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 6.51%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 10th. Verizon Communications's dividend payout ratio is currently 64.52%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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 report on Friday, April 11th. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated a "sector perform" rating and set a $45.00 target price (up from $42.00) on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday. Scotiabank boosted their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $48.50 to $49.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Tigress Financial boosted their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $55.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, April 28th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Verizon Communications currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $47.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at Verizon Communications

In other Verizon Communications news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 9,000 shares of Verizon Communications stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.10, for a total transaction of $396,900.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 10,008 shares of the company's stock, valued at $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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders have sold 21,500 shares of company stock valued at $938,400 over the last quarter. 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).