Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Shares Purchased by First Pacific Financial

First Pacific Financial grew its stake in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 16.7% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,167 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after purchasing an additional 310 shares during the quarter. First Pacific Financial’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $98,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of VZ. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,300,846,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter worth $1,083,337,000. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. boosted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 3,601.6% in the fourth quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. now owns 8,937,180 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $357,398,000 after purchasing an additional 8,695,736 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings 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 valued at $4,346,682,000 after purchasing an additional 7,421,148 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital Research Global Investors increased its stake in Verizon Communications by 52.7% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 19,828,378 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $792,937,000 after buying an additional 6,846,514 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other Verizon Communications news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.48, for a total value of $212,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 36,508 shares in the company, valued at $1,550,859.84. This trade represents a 12.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 21,500 shares of company stock worth $938,400. Insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

Shares of VZ opened at $42.66 on Wednesday. Verizon Communications Inc. has a one year low of $37.59 and a one year high of $47.36. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $43.25 and its 200-day moving average is $42.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a current ratio of 0.61. The firm has a market capitalization of $179.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.14 and a beta of 0.38.

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

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, July 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.6775 per share. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.35%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 10th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is presently 64.52%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on VZ. Wall Street Zen downgraded Verizon Communications from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $45.00 price objective (up previously from $42.00) on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Tuesday, March 25th. Oppenheimer upped their target price on Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report 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 note on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Scotiabank lifted their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $48.50 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Nine 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, Verizon Communications has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target 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).