Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Shares Purchased by WNY Asset Management LLC

WNY Asset Management LLC grew its position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 1.3% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 188,972 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after buying an additional 2,386 shares during the period. Verizon Communications makes up approximately 1.0% of WNY Asset Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 20th largest position. WNY Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $8,572,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. lifted its stake 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 worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 243 shares during the period. Cherry Tree Wealth Management LLC raised its stake 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 worth $26,000 after buying an additional 244 shares in the last quarter. Garde Capital Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the first quarter valued at $26,000. Mattson Financial Services LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 114.6% in the fourth quarter. Mattson Financial Services LLC now owns 777 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 415 shares during the period. Finally, Graney & King LLC acquired a new stake in Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

VZ has been the topic of several recent research reports. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. Tigress Financial lifted their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $55.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Scotiabank upped their price target on Verizon Communications from $48.50 to $49.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued 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. Finally, Morgan Stanley began coverage on Verizon Communications in a report on Thursday, July 10th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $47.00 target price on the stock. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $47.00.

Verizon Communications Trading Down 0.4%

Shares of NYSE VZ opened at $40.77 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $171.90 billion, a PE ratio of 9.71, a PEG ratio of 3.28 and a beta of 0.37. Verizon Communications Inc. has a one year low of $37.59 and a one year 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 business has a 50-day moving average price of $42.88 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $42.42.

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

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 10th will be given 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 6.65%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is currently 64.52%.

Insider Activity

In other Verizon Communications news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 9,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.10, for a total transaction of $396,900.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 10,008 shares in the company, valued at $441,352.80. This trade represents a 47.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 21,500 shares of company stock worth $938,400. Corporate insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

About Verizon Communications

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).