Aspiriant LLC Increases Stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Aspiriant LLC increased its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 8.9% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 8,398 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after buying an additional 683 shares during the period. Aspiriant LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $381,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Verizon Communications Stock Down 0.6%

Shares of NYSE:VZ opened at $41.61 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $175.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.91, a P/E/G ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.38. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $43.39 and a 200 day moving average price of $42.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 0.61 and a quick ratio of 0.58. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1-year low of $37.59 and a 1-year high of $47.36.

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

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, July 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.6775 per share. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.51%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 10th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is currently 64.52%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

VZ has been the subject of several analyst reports. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Scotiabank boosted their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $48.50 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Tigress Financial boosted their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $55.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 28th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Verizon Communications from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 13th. Finally, Wolfe Research cut shares of Verizon Communications from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $47.41.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 7,500 shares of the 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 19,008 shares in the company, valued at $834,071.04. This trade represents a 28.29% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders sold a total of 21,500 shares of company stock worth $938,400 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

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).