Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. Buys 3,859 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. raised its stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 0.8% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 509,284 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,859 shares during the period. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc.’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $23,101,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. increased its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 81.0% during the first quarter. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. now owns 543 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 243 shares in the last quarter. Cherry Tree Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Verizon Communications by 71.8% during the 1st quarter. Cherry Tree Wealth Management LLC now owns 584 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 244 shares in the last quarter. Garde Capital Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the first quarter worth about $26,000. Mattson Financial Services LLC increased its position 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 worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 415 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Graney & King LLC bought a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. 62.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have commented on the company. 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. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Arete Research upgraded shares of Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Monday, July 7th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $45.00 target price for the company. Finally, Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $47.00 price objective for the company. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Verizon Communications has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $47.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Verizon Communications news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 9,000 shares of Verizon Communications stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.10, for a total transaction of $396,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 10,008 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $441,352.80. The trade was a 47.35% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 21,500 shares of company stock worth $938,400. 0.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:VZ opened at $41.28 on Wednesday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $43.04 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $42.40. The firm has a market capitalization of $174.03 billion, a PE ratio of 9.83, a P/E/G ratio of 3.34 and a beta of 0.37. Verizon Communications Inc. has a twelve month low of $37.59 and a twelve month high of $47.36. The company has a quick ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 0.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19.

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

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.6775 per share. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.57%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 10th. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is presently 64.52%.

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).