Griffith & Werner Inc. Has $5.13 Million Stock Position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Griffith & Werner Inc. grew its position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 6.1% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 112,974 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after buying an additional 6,495 shares during the period. Verizon Communications makes up 3.2% of Griffith & Werner Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 12th largest position. Griffith & Werner Inc.’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $5,125,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in VZ. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter valued at $2,300,846,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter valued at $1,083,337,000. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. grew its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 3,601.6% in the 4th quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. now owns 8,937,180 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $357,398,000 after buying an additional 8,695,736 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 7.3% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 108,694,230 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $4,346,682,000 after buying an additional 7,421,148 shares during the period. Finally, Capital Research Global Investors grew its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 52.7% in the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 19,828,378 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $792,937,000 after buying an additional 6,846,514 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Trading Up 1.2%

Shares of NYSE:VZ opened at $43.82 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $43.44 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $42.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 0.63 and a quick ratio of 0.59. Verizon Communications Inc. has a one year low of $37.59 and a one year high of $47.36. The stock has a market capitalization of $184.76 billion, a PE ratio of 10.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.38.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.19 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.15 by $0.04. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 12.99% and a return on equity of 19.80%. The firm had revenue of $33.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $33.31 billion. On average, equities analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The firm 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 dividend of $0.6775 per share. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.18%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 64.52%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $45.00 price target (up previously from $42.00) on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. Evercore ISI raised shares of Verizon Communications from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $48.00 target price for the company in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Verizon Communications from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. Scotiabank upped their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $48.50 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Wolfe Research lowered shares of Verizon Communications from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $47.41.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 7,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.88, for a total value of $329,100.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 19,008 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $834,071.04. This represents a 28.29% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders have sold 21,500 shares of company stock valued at $938,400 in the last three months. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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).