Equity Investment Corp increased its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ – Free Report) by 10.5% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 4,471,691 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after acquiring an additional 426,212 shares during the period. Verizon Communications makes up 4.5% of Equity Investment Corp’s portfolio, making the stock its 2nd biggest position. Equity Investment Corp’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $202,836,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 61.2% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 43,986 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,759,000 after buying an additional 16,704 shares in the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 64.4% in the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 11,127 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $445,000 after buying an additional 4,360 shares in the last quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV lifted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 8.4% in the 4th quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 41,601 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,664,000 after buying an additional 3,236 shares in the last quarter. Horizon Kinetics Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 24.7% in the 4th quarter. Horizon Kinetics Asset Management LLC now owns 5,828 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $233,000 after buying an additional 1,153 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Aspen Wealth Strategies LLC raised its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 4.9% in the 4th quarter. Aspen Wealth Strategies LLC now owns 13,524 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $541,000 after purchasing an additional 630 shares in the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth
A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Arete Research upgraded shares of Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Tigress Financial upped their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $55.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Verizon Communications from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $48.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $47.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Monday, July 7th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $45.00 price objective on the stock. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $47.00.
Insider Buying and Selling at Verizon Communications
In related news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 9,000 shares of the firm’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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 10,008 shares in the company, valued at approximately $441,352.80. This trade represents a 47.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders sold a total of 21,500 shares of company stock valued at $938,400 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.
Verizon Communications Price Performance
NYSE VZ opened at $41.28 on Wednesday. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52 week low of $37.59 and a 52 week 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 stock has a market cap of $174.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.34 and a beta of 0.37. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $43.04 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $42.40.
Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ – Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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. The company had revenue of $33.50 billion for 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%. Analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current year.
Verizon Communications Announces Dividend
The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 1st. Stockholders 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.57%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 64.52%.
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).
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