Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Shares Bought by Lake Street Private Wealth LLC

Lake Street Private Wealth LLC lifted its position in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 28.6% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 118,542 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after buying an additional 26,359 shares during the period. Lake Street Private Wealth LLC's holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $5,377,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Mainstream Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Mattson Financial Services LLC boosted its holdings in shares of 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 during the last quarter. Capital A Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Graney & King LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Compass Financial Services Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter worth $33,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.06% of the company's stock.

Verizon Communications Stock Up 1.2%

Shares of Verizon Communications stock traded up $0.52 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $43.82. 10,130,617 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 19,991,395. Verizon Communications Inc. has a twelve month low of $37.59 and a twelve month high of $47.36. The company has a market cap of $184.76 billion, a PE ratio of 10.58, a PEG ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a quick ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $43.47 and a 200-day simple moving average of $42.27.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.19 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.15 by $0.04. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.80% and a net margin of 12.99%. The firm had revenue of $33.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.31 billion. Equities research analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

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. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.18%. Verizon Communications's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 64.52%.

Insider Activity at Verizon Communications

In related news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 7,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.88, for a total value of $329,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 19,008 shares of the company's stock, valued at $834,071.04. The trade was a 28.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Insiders have sold 21,500 shares of company stock valued at $938,400 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.10% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VZ has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Oppenheimer lifted their target price on Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Wall Street Zen lowered Verizon Communications from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. Tigress Financial increased their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $55.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Wolfe Research lowered shares of Verizon Communications from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. Finally, Evercore ISI upgraded 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 note on Friday, April 11th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Verizon Communications currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price 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).