Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Shares Acquired by Vest Financial LLC

Vest Financial LLC grew its holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 61.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 112,592 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after buying an additional 42,645 shares during the quarter. Vest Financial LLC's holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $5,107,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Mainstream Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Mattson Financial Services LLC lifted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 114.6% in the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Capital A Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. Graney & King LLC purchased a new position in Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, Compass Financial Services Inc purchased a new position in Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. 62.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have issued reports on VZ. Tigress Financial boosted 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 raised Verizon Communications from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $48.00 price target for the company in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a "sector perform" rating and set a $45.00 price target (up previously from $42.00) on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Tuesday, March 25th. Scotiabank boosted their price target on Verizon Communications from $48.50 to $49.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Wolfe Research downgraded Verizon Communications from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $47.41.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Verizon Communications news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 9,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 10,008 shares in the company, valued at approximately $441,352.80. The trade was a 47.35% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 21,500 shares of company stock worth $938,400. Corporate insiders own 0.10% of the company's stock.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

VZ opened at $43.82 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12 month low of $37.59 and a 12 month high of $47.36. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $43.44 and a 200 day simple moving average of $42.28. The stock has a market cap of $184.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.58, a P/E/G ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.38.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.19 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.15 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $33.50 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $33.31 billion. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 12.99% and a return on equity of 19.80%. On average, research analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 1st. Shareholders 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 yield of 6.18%. 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).

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