Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. Has $54.10 Million Holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 1.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,352,747 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after buying an additional 20,809 shares during the quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc.'s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $54,096,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 27.7% in the fourth quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 222,366 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $8,892,000 after purchasing an additional 48,294 shares during the period. Roffman Miller Associates Inc. PA lifted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Roffman Miller Associates Inc. PA now owns 382,678 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $15,303,000 after buying an additional 6,795 shares in the last quarter. Burney Co. boosted its position in Verizon Communications by 30.4% in the 4th quarter. Burney Co. now owns 186,621 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $7,463,000 after buying an additional 43,472 shares during the last quarter. Global Wealth Management Investment Advisory Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter valued at about $4,333,000. Finally, Private Advisor Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 64.6% during the fourth quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 1,394,921 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $55,783,000 after acquiring an additional 547,384 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.06% of the company's stock.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

NYSE VZ traded down $0.25 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $43.90. The company had a trading volume of 12,826,279 shares, compared to its average volume of 20,139,090. 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 firm has a market cap of $185.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.39. Verizon Communications Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $37.59 and a fifty-two week high of $47.36. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $43.73 and a 200-day simple moving average of $41.97.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last released 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. The business had revenue of $33.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $33.31 billion. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 12.99% and a return on equity of 19.80%. Equities analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, April 10th were given a $0.6775 dividend. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.17%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 10th. Verizon Communications's dividend payout ratio is currently 64.52%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently commented on VZ. TD Cowen raised Verizon Communications to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Oppenheimer increased their target price on Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. DZ Bank upgraded shares of Verizon Communications from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $40.00 price target for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a "sector perform" rating and set a $45.00 price objective (up from $42.00) on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Tuesday, March 25th. 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 research note 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 data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $47.41.

Insider Buying and Selling at Verizon Communications

In related news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 7,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.88, for a total transaction 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. This represents a 28.29 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Vandana Venkatesh sold 10,000 shares of Verizon Communications stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.79, for a total transaction of $437,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 14,459 shares in the company, valued at approximately $633,159.61. This trade represents a 40.88 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 22,500 shares of company stock valued at $979,400 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.10% of the company's stock.

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).