Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Shares Acquired by Welch Group LLC

Welch Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 5.9% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,137,904 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after acquiring an additional 63,474 shares during the quarter. Verizon Communications accounts for approximately 2.2% of Welch Group LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 27th biggest holding. Welch Group LLC's holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $51,126,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of VZ. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 363,824,525 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $14,549,343,000 after purchasing an additional 5,697,337 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Verizon Communications by 7.3% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 108,694,230 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $4,346,682,000 after acquiring an additional 7,421,148 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of 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 worth $3,862,441,000 after purchasing an additional 998,847 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,300,846,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings 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 last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VZ has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Wolfe Research cut shares of Verizon Communications from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Verizon Communications from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. Royal Bank of Canada restated a "sector perform" rating and issued a $45.00 target price (up from $42.00) on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Tuesday, March 25th. Tigress Financial increased their price objective on Verizon Communications from $55.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Finally, Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Verizon Communications from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $48.00 target price on the stock in a report on Friday, April 11th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $47.41.

Insider Activity at Verizon Communications

In related news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 7,500 shares of Verizon Communications stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.88, for a total value of $329,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 19,008 shares in the company, valued at approximately $834,071.04. The trade was a 28.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 21,500 shares of company stock valued at $938,400. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

Shares of Verizon Communications stock traded up $0.59 on Friday, reaching $43.92. 26,553,530 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 20,175,397. The firm has a market capitalization of $185.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.61, a PEG ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.39. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $43.57 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $42.21. The company has a quick ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. Verizon Communications Inc. has a twelve month low of $37.59 and a twelve month high of $47.36.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 12.99% and a return on equity of 19.80%. The company had revenue of $33.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $33.31 billion. Analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About Verizon Communications

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).