Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Shares Acquired by Cahill Financial Advisors Inc.

Cahill Financial Advisors Inc. raised its position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 164.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 13,351 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after buying an additional 8,305 shares during the quarter. Cahill Financial Advisors Inc.'s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $534,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 2.7% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 4,954,357 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $222,500,000 after buying an additional 129,171 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its position in Verizon Communications by 8.9% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 8,966,661 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $357,590,000 after buying an additional 731,828 shares during the last quarter. Pensionfund Sabic lifted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 44.0% in the 4th quarter. Pensionfund Sabic now owns 65,500 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $2,619,000 after acquiring an additional 20,000 shares during the period. Iowa State Bank boosted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 27.7% in the fourth quarter. Iowa State Bank now owns 70,276 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $2,810,000 after acquiring an additional 15,250 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Diversified Trust Co increased its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 28.8% during the fourth quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 77,796 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $3,111,000 after acquiring an additional 17,393 shares during the period. 62.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 7,500 shares of the firm's 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 19,008 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $834,071.04. This trade represents a 28.29 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Vandana Venkatesh sold 10,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.79, for a total transaction of $437,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 14,459 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $633,159.61. The trade was a 40.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 22,500 shares of company stock worth $979,400. 0.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VZ has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. DZ Bank raised Verizon Communications from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $40.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. StockNews.com lowered Verizon Communications from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, March 13th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a "sector perform" rating and issued a $45.00 target price (up previously from $42.00) on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Oppenheimer raised their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $47.41.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

VZ stock opened at $43.55 on Tuesday. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $43.69 and its 200 day moving average price is $41.94. The firm has a market cap of $183.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.52, a PEG ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a current ratio of 0.63. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1 year low of $37.59 and a 1 year high of $47.36.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.15 by $0.04. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.80% and a net margin of 12.99%. The business had revenue of $33.50 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $33.31 billion. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, April 10th were paid a dividend of $0.6775 per share. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.22%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 10th. Verizon Communications's payout ratio is 64.52%.

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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