BKM Wealth Management LLC Invests $192,000 in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

BKM Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 4,224 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock, valued at approximately $192,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. lifted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 81.0% during the first 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. Cherry Tree Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 71.8% in the first 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 in the last quarter. Garde Capital Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the first quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Mattson Financial Services LLC increased its stake in Verizon Communications by 114.6% during the 4th quarter. Mattson Financial Services LLC now owns 777 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 415 shares during the period. Finally, Graney & King LLC acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have weighed in on VZ. Morgan Stanley started coverage on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Thursday, July 10th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $47.00 price objective for the company. Arete Research upgraded Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Scotiabank raised their price objective 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. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $45.00 price objective (up previously from $42.00) on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Tuesday, March 25th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $47.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Verizon Communications 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 value of $396,900.00. Following the completion of 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders have sold a total of 21,500 shares of company stock worth $938,400 over the last 90 days. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Verizon Communications Stock Down 0.4%

VZ stock opened at $40.77 on Monday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $42.88 and a two-hundred day moving average of $42.44. The company has a quick ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 0.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12-month low of $37.59 and a 12-month high of $47.36. The company has a market cap of $171.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.71, a PEG ratio of 3.28 and a beta of 0.37.

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

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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 is Thursday, July 10th. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.65%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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).