Kathmere Capital Management LLC Has $3.35 Million Holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Kathmere Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 9.9% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 73,859 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after buying an additional 6,673 shares during the period. Kathmere Capital Management LLC's holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $3,350,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Verizon Communications by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 363,824,525 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $14,549,343,000 after buying an additional 5,697,337 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Verizon Communications by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 96,823,092 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $3,862,441,000 after buying an additional 998,847 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,300,846,000. Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in Verizon Communications by 12.4% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 45,043,310 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $1,801,282,000 after buying an additional 4,951,733 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its stake in Verizon Communications by 13.3% during the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 38,893,487 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $1,555,351,000 after buying an additional 4,568,518 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.06% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have issued reports on VZ. Scotiabank upped their price objective on Verizon Communications from $48.50 to $49.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Monday, July 7th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $45.00 price objective for the company. Evercore ISI raised shares of Verizon Communications from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $48.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Tigress Financial boosted their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $55.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Finally, Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Thursday. They set an "equal weight" rating and a $47.00 price objective for the company. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $47.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 9,000 shares of Verizon Communications 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 transaction, the chief executive officer owned 10,008 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $441,352.80. This trade represents a 47.35% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 21,500 shares of company stock valued at $938,400. Company insiders own 0.10% of the company's stock.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

NYSE:VZ traded down $0.40 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $41.63. 20,156,157 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 20,209,684. 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 business has a fifty day moving average price of $43.14 and a 200 day moving average price of $42.36. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1-year low of $37.59 and a 1-year high of $47.36. The firm has a market capitalization of $175.52 billion, a PE ratio of 9.91, a PEG ratio of 3.37 and a beta of 0.37.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last issued 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. The firm had revenue of $33.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $33.31 billion. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.66% and a net margin of 13.14%. Research 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 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. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 10th. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.51%. Verizon Communications's dividend payout ratio 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).