Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Shares Bought by Milestone Asset Management Group LLC

Milestone Asset Management Group LLC increased its stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 98.7% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 24,039 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after acquiring an additional 11,938 shares during the period. Milestone Asset Management Group LLC's holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $1,025,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. grew its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 81.0% during the first quarter. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. now owns 543 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 243 shares during the last quarter. Cherry Tree Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Verizon Communications by 71.8% during the 1st quarter. Cherry Tree Wealth Management LLC now owns 584 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 244 shares during the period. Garde Capital Inc. acquired a new stake in Verizon Communications during the 1st quarter worth about $26,000. Mattson Financial Services LLC grew its position in Verizon Communications by 114.6% during the 4th quarter. Mattson Financial Services LLC now owns 777 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 415 shares during the period. Finally, Graney & King LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter worth about $32,000. Institutional investors own 62.06% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have weighed in on VZ shares. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Scotiabank boosted their price target 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 lifted their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, 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. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $47.35.

Verizon Communications Trading Down 0.5%

Shares of Verizon Communications stock traded down $0.20 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $42.89. The company's stock had a trading volume of 5,828,739 shares, compared to its average volume of 22,103,070. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1-year low of $37.58 and a 1-year high of $47.35. The business has a fifty day moving average of $42.88 and a 200 day moving average of $42.48. The company has a market capitalization of $180.81 billion, a PE ratio of 10.00, a P/E/G ratio of 3.31 and a beta of 0.37. The company has a quick ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 21st. The cell phone carrier reported $1.22 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.19 by $0.03. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 13.28% and a return on equity of 19.61%. The business had revenue of $34.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.47 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.15 EPS. The business's revenue was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.6775 per share. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.32%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 10th. Verizon Communications's payout ratio is 63.17%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Verizon Communications

In other Verizon Communications 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 transaction 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 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).