Western Financial Corp CA Has $817,000 Stock Position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Western Financial Corp CA lifted its stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 1.5% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 18,013 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after acquiring an additional 269 shares during the period. Western Financial Corp CA’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $817,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of VZ. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. grew its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 81.0% in the first quarter. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. now owns 543 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 243 shares during the last quarter. Cherry Tree Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 71.8% during the first quarter. Cherry Tree Wealth Management LLC now owns 584 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 244 shares during the period. Garde Capital Inc. bought a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the first quarter valued at $26,000. Mainstream Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, Mattson Financial Services LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 114.6% during the fourth quarter. Mattson Financial Services LLC now owns 777 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 415 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Verizon Communications

In related news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 7,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.88, for a total value of $329,100.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 19,008 shares in the company, valued at approximately $834,071.04. This represents a 28.29% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 21,500 shares of company stock worth $938,400. Company insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Trading Down 1.1%

Shares of Verizon Communications stock opened at $42.15 on Thursday. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12-month low of $37.59 and a 12-month high of $47.36. The stock has a market cap of $177.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.04, a P/E/G ratio of 3.16 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a quick ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 0.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19. The business’s 50 day moving average is $43.22 and its 200-day moving average is $42.21.

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

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 1st. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 6.43%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 10th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is currently 64.52%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

VZ has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Tigress Financial boosted their price objective on Verizon Communications from $55.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 28th. Scotiabank boosted their price objective on Verizon Communications from $48.50 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Wall Street Zen cut Verizon Communications from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 13th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $45.00 price objective (up from $42.00) on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. Nine research 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 data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $47.41.

Verizon Communications 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).