Strategic Financial Concepts LLC Increases Stock Position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Strategic Financial Concepts LLC increased its holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 10.6% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 13,852 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after buying an additional 1,330 shares during the period. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $628,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Novem Group grew its holdings in Verizon Communications by 17.5% during the 1st quarter. Novem Group now owns 20,240 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $918,000 after buying an additional 3,013 shares in the last quarter. O Brien Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in Verizon Communications during the first quarter valued at $52,000. Alley Investment Management Company LLC grew its position in Verizon Communications by 0.8% during the first quarter. Alley Investment Management Company LLC now owns 199,126 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $9,032,000 after buying an additional 1,630 shares in the last quarter. Yelin Lapidot Holdings Management Ltd. increased its stake in Verizon Communications by 10.3% in the 1st quarter. Yelin Lapidot Holdings Management Ltd. now owns 10,073 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $457,000 after acquiring an additional 941 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY bought a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the 1st quarter valued at about $62,620,000. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

Shares of NYSE VZ opened at $43.62 on Friday. 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 $183.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.39, a P/E/G ratio of 3.23 and a beta of 0.37. The company’s 50-day moving average is $43.19 and its 200 day moving average is $42.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 0.61 and a quick ratio of 0.58.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last posted 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. The business had revenue of $33.50 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $33.31 billion. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.66% and a net margin of 13.14%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, July 10th will be paid a $0.6775 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 10th. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.21%. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is 64.52%.

Insider Transactions at Verizon Communications

In other news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 9,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 directly owned 10,008 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $441,352.80. The trade was a 47.35% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 21,500 shares of company stock worth $938,400. Company insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $45.00 price objective (up from $42.00) on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Tuesday, March 25th. Scotiabank increased their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $48.50 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Oppenheimer raised their price objective on Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Verizon Communications from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 13th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised Verizon Communications from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $48.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $47.25.

Verizon Communications 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).