36,975 Shares in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Purchased by Simplicity Wealth LLC

Simplicity Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 36,975 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock, valued at approximately $1,677,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. NCM Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. NCM Capital Management LLC now owns 18,390 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $735,000 after purchasing an additional 245 shares in the last quarter. Kirtland Hills Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Kirtland Hills Capital Management LLC now owns 10,968 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $439,000 after purchasing an additional 252 shares in the last quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC increased its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 9.9% in the 4th quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 2,915 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $117,000 after purchasing an additional 263 shares in the last quarter. Tower Wealth Partners Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Tower Wealth Partners Inc. now owns 10,483 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $419,000 after purchasing an additional 263 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Campbell Wealth Management increased its holdings in Verizon Communications by 4.8% during the 4th quarter. Campbell Wealth Management now owns 5,732 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $229,000 after acquiring an additional 265 shares in the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

VZ opened at $44.12 on Wednesday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $43.39 and its 200 day simple moving average is $42.30. 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. The stock has a market capitalization of $186.02 billion, a PE ratio of 10.66, a P/E/G ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.38.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $33.31 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, July 10th will be given a $0.6775 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 10th. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.14%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is presently 64.52%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 9,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.10, for a total value of $396,900.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 10,008 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $441,352.80. This trade represents a 47.35% 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. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 21,500 shares of company stock valued at $938,400. Insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have weighed in on VZ shares. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Verizon Communications from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 13th. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Verizon Communications from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $48.00 target price for the company in a report on Friday, April 11th. Scotiabank raised their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $48.50 to $49.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $45.00 target price (up from $42.00) on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. Finally, Tigress Financial raised their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $55.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 28th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $47.41.

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).