Dixon Hughes Goodman Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE: VZ – Get Rating) by 107.6% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 11,004 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after buying an additional 5,704 shares during the quarter. Dixon Hughes Goodman Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $ 561,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.
Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Everett Harris & Co. CA boosted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 6.2% during the 4th quarter. Everett Harris & Co. CA now owns 491,456 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $ 25,536,000 after acquiring an additional 28,710 shares during the last quarter. Qtron Investments LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 4.9% during the 4th quarter. Qtron Investments LLC now owns 14,495 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $ 753,000 after acquiring an additional 682 shares during the last quarter. Autumn Glory Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter worth approximately $ 938,000. Maltin Wealth Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 45.0% in the 4th quarter. Maltin Wealth Management Inc. now owns 27,054 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $ 1,406,000 after purchasing an additional 8,393 shares during the period. Finally, BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab AS lifted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 60.8% in the 4th quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab AS now owns 746,708 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $ 38,799,000 after purchasing an additional 282,313 shares during the period. 63.78% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
Verizon Communications stock opened at $ 49.03 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $ 205.91 billion, a P / E ratio of 9.52, a PEG ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a current ratio of 0.76 and a quick ratio of 0.69. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1 year low of $ 45.55 and a 1 year high of $ 56.85. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $ 50.34 and its 200-day moving average price is $ 51.85.
Verizon Communications (NYSE: VZ – Get Rating) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $ 1.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $ 1.35. The firm had revenue of $ 33.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $ 33.61 billion. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 15.93% and a return on equity of 28.15%. The company revenue for the quarter was up 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $ 1.31 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 5.4 EPS for the current year.
The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 1st. Investors of record on Friday, July 8th will be issued a $ 0.64 dividend. This represents a $ 2.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.22%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 7th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 49.71%.
Several brokerages have recently weighed in on VZ. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Verizon Communications from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut shares of Verizon Communications from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $ 61.00 to $ 55.00 in a research note on Monday, April 25th. William Blair reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Monday, April 25th. Wolfe Research lowered their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $ 60.00 to $ 51.00 and set a “peer perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, June 2nd. Finally, DZ Bank cut shares of Verizon Communications from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $ 44.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Friday, April 29th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $ 57.20.
In related news, EVP Craig L. Silliman sold 1,558 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $ 52.00, for a total value of $ 81,016.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 38,077 shares of the company stock, valued at $ 1,980,004. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Tami A. Erwin sold 23,647 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $ 49.77, for a total transaction of $ 1,176,911.19. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 21,817 shares of the company stock, valued at $ 1,085,832.09. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 28,321 shares of company stock valued at $ 1,415,192. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.
Verizon Communications Company Profile: (Get Rating)
Verizon Communications Inc, through its subsidiaries, offers communications, technology, information, and entertainment products and services to consumers, businesses, and governmental entities worldwide. Its Consumer segment provides postpaid and prepaid service plans; internet access on notebook computers and tablets; wireless equipment, including smartphones and other handsets; and wireless-enabled internet devices, such as tablets, and other wireless-enabled connected devices comprising smart watches.
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