XTX Topco Ltd Increases Holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

XTX Topco Ltd boosted its position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 150.1% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 23,387 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after buying an additional 14,035 shares during the quarter. XTX Topco Ltd's holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $1,061,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of VZ. Sargent Investment Group LLC grew its stake in Verizon Communications by 3.3% in the first quarter. Sargent Investment Group LLC now owns 7,125 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $323,000 after purchasing an additional 230 shares in the last quarter. Crescent Sterling Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 0.8% in the 1st quarter. Crescent Sterling Ltd. now owns 30,906 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $1,402,000 after buying an additional 235 shares during the period. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. grew its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 81.0% during the 1st quarter. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. now owns 543 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 243 shares in the last quarter. Cherry Tree Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 244 shares in the last quarter. Finally, NCM Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. NCM Capital Management LLC now owns 18,390 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $735,000 after buying an additional 245 shares during the period. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 9,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 $441,352.80. This trade represents a 47.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.10% of the company's stock.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

Shares of Verizon Communications stock opened at $42.84 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $180.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.99, a PEG ratio of 3.31 and a beta of 0.36. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52 week low of $37.58 and a 52 week high of $47.35. The company has a quick ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $42.75 and a 200 day moving average price of $42.69.

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 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 analysts' expectations of $33.47 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.15 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have commented on VZ. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Verizon Communications from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, July 26th. 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 report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Tigress Financial lifted their price target on Verizon Communications from $55.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, April 28th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $47.35.

Verizon Communications 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).

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