LifeWealth Investments LLC Acquires 5,026 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

LifeWealth Investments LLC raised its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 50.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 15,068 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,026 shares during the quarter. LifeWealth Investments LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $683,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 363,824,525 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $14,549,343,000 after purchasing an additional 5,697,337 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in Verizon Communications by 7.3% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 108,694,230 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $4,346,682,000 after buying an additional 7,421,148 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 96,823,092 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $3,862,441,000 after buying an additional 998,847 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter valued at about $2,300,846,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 12.4% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 45,043,310 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $1,801,282,000 after acquiring an additional 4,951,733 shares in the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Verizon Communications news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 9,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.10, for a total value of $396,900.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 10,008 shares in the company, valued at approximately $441,352.80. The trade was a 47.35% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 21,500 shares of company stock valued at $938,400. Insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

Shares of VZ opened at $41.85 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 0.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19. The stock has a market cap of $176.46 billion, a PE ratio of 9.97, a PEG ratio of 3.15 and a beta of 0.38. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12-month low of $37.59 and a 12-month high of $47.36. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $43.42 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $42.25.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.19 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.15 by $0.04. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.66% and a net margin of 13.14%. The company had revenue of $33.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $33.31 billion. Analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 10th will be given a $0.6775 dividend. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.48%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 10th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 64.52%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $45.00 price objective (up previously from $42.00) on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Tuesday, March 25th. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Verizon Communications from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $48.00 price target for the company in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Verizon Communications from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. Scotiabank raised their price objective on Verizon Communications from $48.50 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Tigress Financial upped their target price on Verizon Communications from $55.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Nine equities research 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $47.41.

About Verizon Communications

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).