FARMERS & MERCHANTS TRUST Co OF LONG BEACH boosted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ – Free Report) by 20.7% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 30,013 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,155 shares during the period. FARMERS & MERCHANTS TRUST Co OF LONG BEACH’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $1,167,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VZ. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 16.5% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 85,876,978 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $3,358,991,000 after purchasing an additional 12,189,613 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 79,682,618 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $3,134,486,000 after purchasing an additional 562,742 shares during the period. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 88,532.0% in the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 79,084,569 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $3,115,932,000 after purchasing an additional 78,995,341 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley raised its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 21.4% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 67,976,459 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $2,678,273,000 after purchasing an additional 11,987,691 shares during the period. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 255.9% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 48,058,216 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $1,893,493,000 after purchasing an additional 34,553,565 shares during the period. 61.83% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.
Verizon Communications Trading Down 1.6 %
Shares of VZ stock opened at $35.90 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 0.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.49. The stock has a market cap of $150.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 0.38. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $36.32 and a 200 day simple moving average of $38.23. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1 year low of $33.72 and a 1 year high of $51.36.
Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement
The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 10th will be given a dividend of $0.6525 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 7th. This represents a $2.61 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.27%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is currently 50.78%.
Insider Buying and Selling at Verizon Communications
In other Verizon Communications news, EVP Joseph J. Russo sold 7,585 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.30, for a total transaction of $275,335.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 8,582 shares in the company, valued at $311,526.60. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, EVP Craig L. Silliman sold 3,340 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, April 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.21, for a total value of $130,961.40. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 73,015 shares in the company, valued at $2,862,918.15. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Joseph J. Russo sold 7,585 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.30, for a total value of $275,335.50. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 8,582 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $311,526.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.02% of the company’s stock.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
Several analysts have issued reports on the company. HSBC dropped their price target on Verizon Communications from $42.50 to $39.00 in a research note on Monday, June 5th. Bank of America lowered their target price on Verizon Communications from $51.00 to $41.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 23rd. StockNews.com assumed coverage on Verizon Communications in a research report on Thursday, May 18th. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Finally, Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $46.00 target price on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Thursday, April 6th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Verizon Communications presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $45.44.
Verizon Communications 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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