Geneos Wealth Management Inc. Buys 14,338 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Key Points

• Geneos Wealth Management Inc. increased its stake in Verizon Communications by 8.9% during Q1, holding 176,219 shares valued at approximately $7.99 million.
• Verizon's CEO, Kyle Malady, sold 9,000 shares recently, reducing his ownership by 47.35% and leaving him with shares valued at around $441,352.80.
• Analyst ratings for Verizon show an average price target of $47.35, with 11 analysts rating it as a hold, 7 as a buy, and 3 as a strong buy.

Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 8.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 176,219 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after purchasing an additional 14,338 shares during the quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc.'s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $7,993,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. raised its holdings in Verizon Communications by 81.0% during the first quarter. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. now owns 543 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 243 shares during the last quarter. Cherry Tree Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Verizon Communications by 71.8% during the first quarter. Cherry Tree Wealth Management LLC now owns 584 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 244 shares during the last quarter. Garde Capital Inc. acquired a new position in Verizon Communications during the first quarter worth $26,000. Mattson Financial Services LLC raised its holdings in Verizon Communications by 114.6% during the fourth 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 last quarter. Finally, Capital A Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter worth $32,000. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Arete Research raised Verizon Communications to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Tigress Financial upped their target price on Verizon Communications from $55.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock 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 target price for the company in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Wall Street Zen raised Verizon Communications from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, July 26th. Finally, Bank of America upped their target price on Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. 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, Verizon Communications presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $47.35.

Insider Buying and Selling at Verizon Communications

In other news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 9,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.10, for a total transaction of $396,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 10,008 shares in the company, valued at $441,352.80. This represents a 47.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

VZ traded up $0.08 on Friday, reaching $42.84. The company had a trading volume of 20,824,312 shares, compared to its average volume of 22,044,295. Verizon Communications Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $37.58 and a fifty-two week high of $47.35. The stock has a market cap of $180.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.99, a P/E/G ratio of 3.29 and a beta of 0.37. The company's fifty day moving average is $42.76 and its 200 day moving average is $42.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a current ratio of 0.64.

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

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 10th will be given a dividend of $0.6775 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 10th. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.3%. Verizon Communications's dividend payout ratio is 63.17%.

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).