WealthTrust Axiom LLC Purchases 402 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

WealthTrust Axiom LLC lifted its position in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ – Get Rating) by 0.4% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 95,472 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after acquiring an additional 402 shares during the period. Verizon Communications makes up approximately 1.5% of WealthTrust Axiom LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 16th largest position. WealthTrust Axiom LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $4,863,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Rinkey Investments bought a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Lansing Street Advisors purchased a new stake in Verizon Communications in the first quarter worth approximately $35,000. Conrad Siegel Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Verizon Communications in the first quarter worth approximately $36,000. Gibson Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter worth approximately $37,000. Finally, Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 109.2% in the first quarter. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC now owns 726 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 379 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 63.78% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Stock Up 1.2 %

Shares of VZ stock opened at $44.95 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $188.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.01, a PEG ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.33. Verizon Communications Inc. has a one year low of $43.76 and a one year high of $56.20. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $49.40 and its 200-day moving average price is $51.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.56, a current ratio of 0.76 and a quick ratio of 0.69.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ – Get Rating) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.31 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.32 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $33.79 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $33.77 billion. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 15.48% and a return on equity of 26.95%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.37 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 5.2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 8th were given a dividend of $0.64 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 7th. This represents a $2.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.70%. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is 51.30%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VZ has been the topic of several research reports. Barclays cut shares of Verizon Communications from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, July 22nd. UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $57.00 to $47.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 25th. Bank of America cut shares of Verizon Communications from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $64.00 to $51.00 in a report on Thursday, July 28th. StockNews.com cut shares of Verizon Communications from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 26th. Finally, Raymond James restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $64.00 target price on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Thursday, July 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Verizon Communications has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $56.50.

Insider Activity

In other Verizon Communications news, EVP Craig L. Silliman sold 1,558 shares of Verizon Communications stock in a transaction on Friday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.94, for a total value of $79,364.52. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 34,961 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,780,913.34. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders have sold 4,674 shares of company stock worth $237,377 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Profile

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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.