Mirador Capital Partners LP Buys 553 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Mirador Capital Partners LP raised its stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 2.2% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 25,899 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after acquiring an additional 553 shares during the quarter. Mirador Capital Partners LP’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $1,175,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Mainstream Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Mattson Financial Services LLC boosted its position in Verizon Communications by 114.6% during the 4th quarter. Mattson Financial Services LLC now owns 777 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 415 shares during the period. Graney & King LLC acquired a new stake in Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. Capital A Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, Compass Financial Services Inc acquired a new stake in Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. Institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

NYSE VZ opened at $43.92 on Friday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $43.57 and a 200 day simple moving average of $42.22. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12-month low of $37.59 and a 12-month high of $47.36. The company has a current ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. The company has a market cap of $185.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.61, a PEG ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.39.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 net margin of 12.99% and a return on equity of 19.80%. The business had revenue of $33.50 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $33.31 billion. Sell-side analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently commented on VZ. Tigress Financial lifted their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $55.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Scotiabank lifted their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $48.50 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Oppenheimer lifted their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $45.00 target price (up from $42.00) on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Tuesday, March 25th. Finally, Wolfe Research lowered shares of Verizon Communications from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $47.41.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Verizon Communications news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 7,500 shares of Verizon Communications stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 19,008 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $834,071.04. The trade was a 28.29% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders have sold 21,500 shares of company stock valued at $938,400 in the last three months. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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).