Penbrook Management LLC Purchases 6,950 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Penbrook Management LLC lifted its position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 24.9% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 34,871 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after purchasing an additional 6,950 shares during the period. Verizon Communications comprises approximately 1.2% of Penbrook Management LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 18th biggest holding. Penbrook Management LLC's holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $1,582,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VZ. Roffman Miller Associates Inc. PA grew its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Roffman Miller Associates Inc. PA now owns 382,678 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $15,303,000 after buying an additional 6,795 shares during the last quarter. BridgePort Financial Solutions LLC bought a new stake in Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter valued at $381,000. Global Wealth Management Investment Advisory Inc. bought a new position in Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter worth about $4,333,000. Private Advisor Group LLC boosted its position in Verizon Communications by 64.6% during the 4th quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 1,394,921 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $55,783,000 after acquiring an additional 547,384 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Axis Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,200,000. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:VZ traded up $0.17 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $43.30. 9,959,703 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 20,147,661. Verizon Communications Inc. has a one year low of $37.59 and a one year high of $47.36. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $43.56 and a 200 day moving average of $42.18. The company has a market cap of $182.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.46, a P/E/G ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a current ratio of 0.63.

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 the consensus estimate of $1.15 by $0.04. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 12.99% and a return on equity of 19.80%. The business had revenue of $33.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $33.31 billion. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 10th were given a $0.6775 dividend. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.26%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 10th. Verizon Communications's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 64.52%.

Insider Activity

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 value of $396,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 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 legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders have sold 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.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on VZ shares. Tigress Financial lifted their price target on Verizon Communications from $55.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Evercore ISI upgraded Verizon Communications from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $48.00 price objective for the company in a report on Friday, April 11th. Wolfe Research cut shares of Verizon Communications from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. Oppenheimer increased their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. 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. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $47.41.

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).