Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Stock Holdings Raised by Little House Capital LLC

Little House Capital LLC raised its stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 19.3% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 48,913 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after acquiring an additional 7,898 shares during the period. Little House Capital LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $2,219,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. boosted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 81.0% in the 1st quarter. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. now owns 543 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 243 shares during the period. Garde Capital Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the 1st quarter valued at about $26,000. Cherry Tree Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 71.8% in the 1st quarter. Cherry Tree Wealth Management LLC now owns 584 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 244 shares during the period. Mainstream Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, EQ Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the 1st quarter valued at about $32,000. 62.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Verizon Communications Stock Up 0.5%

NYSE VZ opened at $42.32 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 0.61 and a quick ratio of 0.58. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $43.15 and its 200 day simple moving average is $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 market capitalization of $178.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.08, a PEG ratio of 3.12 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 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $33.31 billion. Equities research analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 issued a $0.6775 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 10th. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.40%. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is currently 64.52%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently commented on VZ shares. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Verizon Communications from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 13th. Scotiabank boosted their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $48.50 to $49.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $45.00 target price (up from $42.00) on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Tuesday, March 25th. Evercore ISI raised 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 research note on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Wolfe Research lowered shares of Verizon Communications from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $47.41.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 9,000 shares of the business’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 transaction of $396,900.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 10,008 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $441,352.80. The trade was a 47.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders have sold 21,500 shares of company stock worth $938,400 in the last ninety days. 0.10% of the stock is currently 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).