Lazari Capital Management Inc. Acquires 5,401 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Lazari Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 8.8% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 66,851 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after buying an additional 5,401 shares during the period. Verizon Communications comprises 1.2% of Lazari Capital Management Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 16th largest position. Lazari Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $3,032,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. increased its holdings in Verizon Communications by 81.0% during the first quarter. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. now owns 543 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 243 shares during the last quarter. Garde Capital Inc. bought a new position in Verizon Communications in the 1st quarter valued at about $26,000. Cherry Tree Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 71.8% during the first quarter. Cherry Tree Wealth Management LLC now owns 584 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 244 shares during the period. Mainstream Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Finally, EQ Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Verizon Communications during the first quarter worth about $32,000. Institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on VZ shares. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. Evercore ISI upgraded Verizon Communications from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $48.00 target price for the company in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Wolfe Research lowered Verizon Communications from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Verizon Communications from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $45.00 price objective (up from $42.00) on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Tuesday, March 25th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $47.41.

Verizon Communications Stock Up 1.6%

Shares of NYSE VZ opened at $42.35 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $43.28 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $42.21. 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 0.61, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19. The company has a market cap of $178.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.08, a PEG ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.38.

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

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 10th will be paid a $0.6775 dividend. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.40%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 10th. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is 64.52%.

Insider Activity at Verizon Communications

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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 10,008 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $441,352.80. This represents a 47.35% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Insiders have sold a total of 21,500 shares of company stock valued at $938,400 in the last 90 days. 0.10% of the stock is owned by corporate 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).