Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Shares Bought by WealthTrust Axiom LLC

WealthTrust Axiom LLC boosted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 2.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 118,806 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,422 shares during the period. Verizon Communications comprises about 1.5% of WealthTrust Axiom LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 15th biggest holding. WealthTrust Axiom LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $4,479,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC raised its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 19.8% in the third quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 18,648 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $604,000 after buying an additional 3,079 shares during the last quarter. YHB Investment Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 80.5% in the third quarter. YHB Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 21,173 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $742,000 after buying an additional 9,441 shares during the last quarter. Sweet Financial Partners LLC increased its position in Verizon Communications by 111.6% during the third quarter. Sweet Financial Partners LLC now owns 12,512 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $406,000 after purchasing an additional 6,598 shares during the last quarter. Edmp Inc. increased its position in Verizon Communications by 17.3% during the third quarter. Edmp Inc. now owns 34,014 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,102,000 after purchasing an additional 5,020 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Litman Gregory Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Verizon Communications during the third quarter worth about $596,000. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Verizon Communications Stock Down 1.1 %

Shares of NYSE VZ traded down $0.46 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $39.63. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 8,964,988 shares, compared to its average volume of 20,018,658. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $40.45 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $38.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a current ratio of 0.71 and a quick ratio of 0.67. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1 year low of $30.14 and a 1 year high of $43.42. The firm has a market capitalization of $166.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 0.41.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.12 by $0.03. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 8.44% and a return on equity of 20.41%. The company had revenue of $33 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $33.23 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.20 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up .3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.6 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 10th will be paid a $0.665 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 9th. This represents a $2.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.71%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is currently 99.25%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 15,000 shares of Verizon Communications stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 59,201 shares in the company, valued at $2,387,576.33. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.03% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently issued reports on VZ. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Verizon Communications from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. KeyCorp raised their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. Raymond James raised their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Verizon Communications from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $46.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 4th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $40.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $44.21.

Verizon Communications Company 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).