My Legacy Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ – Get Rating) by 4.9% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 20,223 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after buying an additional 952 shares during the quarter. My Legacy Advisors LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $796,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.
Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. BCK Partners Inc. bought a new position in Verizon Communications in the 1st quarter valued at $2,101,000. Axiom Financial Strategies LLC raised its position in Verizon Communications by 8.9% in the 1st quarter. Axiom Financial Strategies LLC now owns 5,980 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $279,000 after purchasing an additional 487 shares during the last quarter. Ergoteles LLC raised its position in Verizon Communications by 174.0% in the 1st quarter. Ergoteles LLC now owns 91,776 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $4,675,000 after purchasing an additional 58,283 shares during the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp raised its position in Verizon Communications by 10.5% in the 1st quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 1,194,111 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $60,828,000 after purchasing an additional 113,032 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Western Trust Bank bought a new position in Verizon Communications in the 1st quarter valued at $567,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 61.83% of the company’s stock.
Analyst Ratings Changes
Several brokerages have issued reports on VZ. StockNews.com began coverage on Verizon Communications in a research report on Thursday, May 18th. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. HSBC dropped their target price on Verizon Communications from $42.50 to $39.00 in a research report on Monday, June 5th. Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and set a $46.00 target price on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Thursday, April 6th. Finally, Bank of America dropped their target price on Verizon Communications from $51.00 to $41.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 23rd. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Verizon Communications presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $46.12.
Verizon Communications Stock Up 0.1 %
Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ – Get Rating) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 25th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.19 by $0.01. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 23.31% and a net margin of 15.85%. The firm had revenue of $32.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $33.64 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.35 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.68 EPS for the current year.
Verizon Communications Announces Dividend
The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 10th will be given a dividend of $0.6525 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 7th. This represents a $2.61 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.28%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is currently 50.78%.
Insider Transactions at Verizon Communications
In related news, EVP Craig L. Silliman sold 3,340 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.21, for a total transaction of $130,961.40. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 73,015 shares in the company, valued at $2,862,918.15. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Craig L. Silliman sold 3,340 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.21, for a total transaction of $130,961.40. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 73,015 shares in the company, valued at $2,862,918.15. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Craig L. Silliman sold 3,342 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.00, for a total value of $126,996.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 76,355 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,901,490. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 14,267 shares of company stock valued at $533,293 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.02% of the company’s stock.
Verizon Communications Company Profile
Verizon Communications Inc, through its subsidiaries, provides 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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