Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. Increases Stock Position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 2.5% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 6,639,530 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after buying an additional 164,291 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. owned about 0.16% of Verizon Communications worth $278,595,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. WealthTrust Axiom LLC grew its stake in Verizon Communications by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. WealthTrust Axiom LLC now owns 118,806 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $4,479,000 after purchasing an additional 2,422 shares in the last quarter. Portland Investment Counsel Inc. raised its holdings in Verizon Communications by 173.7% in the third quarter. Portland Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 652,169 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $21,137,000 after acquiring an additional 413,869 shares in the last quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC boosted its stake in Verizon Communications by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 127,632 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $5,131,000 after acquiring an additional 1,616 shares during the last quarter. 180 Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Verizon Communications by 6.2% during the 3rd quarter. 180 Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 51,757 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $1,677,000 after acquiring an additional 3,020 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GFS Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter valued at about $212,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.06% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other Verizon Communications news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 15,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.33, for a total value of $604,950.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 59,201 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,387,576.33. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Redburn Atlantic upgraded Verizon Communications from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $33.00 to $39.00 in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $40.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 30th. KeyCorp raised their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on Verizon Communications from $36.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $44.21.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

VZ traded down $0.60 on Tuesday, reaching $39.49. The company had a trading volume of 20,216,529 shares, compared to its average volume of 20,158,723. The company has a market capitalization of $166.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.74, a PEG ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a current ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42. The company has a fifty day moving average of $40.43 and a 200-day moving average of $38.74. Verizon Communications Inc. has a one year low of $30.14 and a one year high of $43.42.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.12 by $0.03. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 8.44% and a return on equity of 20.41%. The business had revenue of $33 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $33.23 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.20 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up .3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.6 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 10th will be paid a $0.665 dividend. This represents a $2.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.74%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 9th. Verizon Communications's dividend payout ratio is presently 99.25%.

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).

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