Costello Asset Management INC Buys 26,063 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Costello Asset Management INC raised its holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 242.0% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 36,833 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after acquiring an additional 26,063 shares during the quarter. Costello Asset Management INC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $1,671,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in Verizon Communications by 12.4% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 45,043,310 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $1,801,282,000 after acquiring an additional 4,951,733 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its stake in Verizon Communications by 13.3% in the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 38,893,487 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $1,555,351,000 after acquiring an additional 4,568,518 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in Verizon Communications by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 36,851,192 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $1,473,557,000 after acquiring an additional 990,775 shares during the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its stake in Verizon Communications by 5.2% in the fourth quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 27,418,052 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $1,096,447,000 after acquiring an additional 1,348,389 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital Research Global Investors boosted its stake in Verizon Communications by 52.7% in the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 19,828,378 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $792,937,000 after acquiring an additional 6,846,514 shares during the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on VZ shares. Arete Research raised shares of Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Scotiabank lifted their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $48.50 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Verizon Communications from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, July 26th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $47.35.

Verizon Communications Stock Up 0.2%

Shares of VZ stock opened at $42.96 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1 year low of $37.58 and a 1 year high of $47.35. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $42.74 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $42.75. The firm has a market capitalization of $181.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.01, a PEG ratio of 3.31 and a beta of 0.36.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 21st. The cell phone carrier reported $1.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.19 by $0.03. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 13.28% and a return on equity of 19.61%. The firm had revenue of $34.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.47 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.15 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 10th were paid a dividend of $0.6775 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 10th. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.3%. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is currently 63.17%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Verizon Communications

In other news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 9,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owned 10,008 shares in the company, valued at $441,352.80. The trade was a 47.35% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.10% of the stock is 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).