Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ Stock: Welch Group LLC Raises Position

Welch Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 2.4% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 1,229,866 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after purchasing an additional 28,707 shares during the quarter. Verizon Communications comprises about 1.9% of Welch Group LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 23rd biggest position. Welch Group LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $56,414,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in VZ. Cornerstone Financial Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 6.2% in the second quarter. Cornerstone Financial Management LLC now owns 3,568 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $151,000 after buying an additional 207 shares during the last quarter. Manchester Financial Inc. raised its holdings in Verizon Communications by 0.6% during the second quarter. Manchester Financial Inc. now owns 34,924 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $1,479,000 after acquiring an additional 218 shares during the period. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 32.7% during the first quarter. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC now owns 888 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 219 shares in the last quarter. FAS Wealth Partners Inc. raised its stake in Verizon Communications by 1.2% during the 1st quarter. FAS Wealth Partners Inc. now owns 18,421 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $925,000 after purchasing an additional 223 shares during the period. Finally, Bare Financial Services Inc lifted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 37.4% in the 2nd quarter. Bare Financial Services Inc now owns 841 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 229 shares in the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

VZ has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Barclays cut their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $44.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, October 27th. Sanford C. Bernstein dropped their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $45.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 13th. Freedom Broker upgraded Verizon Communications from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $53.00 to $55.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 28th. Citigroup reduced their target price on Verizon Communications from $55.00 to $53.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 27th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price target on Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and sixteen have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $51.05.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 1,100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.00, for a total value of $47,300.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 98,866 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,251,238. The trade was a 1.10% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 11,000 shares of company stock worth $516,373. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

VZ opened at $44.81 on Monday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $47.04 and a 200 day moving average of $46.73. The company has a quick ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33. The stock has a market cap of $186.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.43, a PEG ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 0.26. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52-week low of $38.68 and a 52-week high of $51.68.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 26th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.27 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $34.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $34.77 billion. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.75% and a net margin of 11.78%. Verizon Communications’s revenue was up 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.21 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 5.08 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.7075 per share. This represents a $2.83 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.3%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 9th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is presently 72.19%.

Verizon Communications Profile

Verizon Communications Inc is a telecommunications company that provides wireless communications, broadband, and digital connectivity services. Through its consumer business, Verizon offers mobile voice and data plans, smartphones and other connected devices, home internet, fixed wireless access, and fiber-optic broadband services under the Fios brand.

Verizon also serves businesses, government agencies, and other organizations with wireless connectivity, private networks, internet and data services, managed communications, cloud and security solutions, and Internet of Things services.