Windle Wealth LLC increased its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 8.2% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 183,890 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after buying an additional 13,888 shares during the quarter. Verizon Communications accounts for about 4.3% of Windle Wealth LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 10th largest position. Windle Wealth LLC's holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $8,341,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.
Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Verizon Communications by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 363,824,525 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $14,549,343,000 after acquiring an additional 5,697,337 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Verizon Communications by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 96,823,092 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $3,862,441,000 after acquiring an additional 998,847 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter worth about $2,300,846,000. Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in Verizon Communications by 12.4% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 45,043,310 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $1,801,282,000 after acquiring an additional 4,951,733 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its position in Verizon Communications by 13.3% during the 4th 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 worth $1,555,351,000 after acquiring an additional 4,568,518 shares during the period. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
Analyst Ratings Changes
A number of analysts have commented on VZ shares. Morgan Stanley started coverage on Verizon Communications in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. They set an "equal weight" rating and a $47.00 price target for the company. Bank of America initiated coverage on Verizon Communications in a research report on Monday, July 7th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $45.00 price target for the company. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued a "sector perform" rating and issued a $45.00 price objective (up previously from $42.00) on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. Tigress Financial boosted their price objective on Verizon Communications from $55.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, April 28th. Finally, Arete Research raised Verizon Communications to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. 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. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $47.00.
View Our Latest Analysis on Verizon Communications
Insider Activity
In related news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 9,000 shares of the 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 10,008 shares in the company, valued at approximately $441,352.80. This represents a 47.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders sold 21,500 shares of company stock valued at $938,400 in the last ninety days. 0.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.
Verizon Communications Price Performance
NYSE:VZ traded up $1.54 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $42.38. 9,402,149 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 20,226,574. 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 firm's fifty day moving average price is $42.88 and its 200 day moving average price is $42.44. The company has a market cap of $178.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.06, a P/E/G ratio of 3.28 and a beta of 0.37. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52-week low of $37.59 and a 52-week high of $47.36.
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, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.19 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $34.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.47 billion. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.66% and a net margin of 13.14%. The business's revenue was up 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.15 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS 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. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 10th will be given a $0.6775 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 10th. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.40%. Verizon Communications's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 64.52%.
About Verizon Communications
(
Free Report)
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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