Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Shares Purchased by Solitude Financial Services

Solitude Financial Services increased its stake in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ – Get Rating) by 43.1% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 11,074 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,335 shares during the quarter. Solitude Financial Services’ holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $564,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in VZ. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 6.2% during the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 4,072,957 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $219,967,000 after buying an additional 238,346 shares during the last quarter. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Verizon Communications during the 3rd quarter worth about $7,966,000. Summit Trail Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 23.5% during the 3rd quarter. Summit Trail Advisors LLC now owns 11,575 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $625,000 after buying an additional 2,206 shares during the last quarter. Jeppson Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 15.7% in the 3rd quarter. Jeppson Wealth Management LLC now owns 48,283 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $2,607,000 after purchasing an additional 6,534 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capstone Triton Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 8.8% in the 3rd quarter. Capstone Triton Financial Group LLC now owns 61,348 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $3,226,000 after purchasing an additional 4,956 shares during the last quarter. 63.78% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Several analysts have recently weighed in on VZ shares. William Blair reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Monday, April 25th. Credit Suisse Group reduced their target price on Verizon Communications from $58.00 to $54.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. DZ Bank downgraded Verizon Communications from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $44.00 target price for the company. in a report on Friday, April 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded Verizon Communications from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $61.00 to $55.00 in a report on Monday, April 25th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Verizon Communications from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 12th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $56.60.

NYSE VZ opened at $50.79 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64. The business’s 50 day moving average is $50.12 and its two-hundred day moving average is $51.82. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12-month low of $45.55 and a 12-month high of $56.85. The stock has a market capitalization of $213.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.86, a PEG ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.41.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ – Get Rating) last released its earnings results on Friday, April 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.35. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 28.15% and a net margin of 15.93%. The company had revenue of $33.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $33.61 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.31 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 5.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 8th will be given a dividend of $0.64 per share. This represents a $2.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.04%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 7th. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is 49.71%.

In related news, EVP Craig L. Silliman sold 1,558 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.00, for a total value of $81,016.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 38,077 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,980,004. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Tami A. Erwin sold 23,647 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.77, for a total value of $1,176,911.19. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 21,817 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,085,832.09. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 28,321 shares of company stock worth $1,415,192 in the last quarter. 0.02% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

About Verizon Communications (Get Rating)

Verizon Communications Inc, through its subsidiaries, offers communications, technology, information, and entertainment products and services to consumers, businesses, and governmental entities worldwide. Its Consumer segment provides postpaid and prepaid service plans; internet access on notebook computers and tablets; wireless equipment, including smartphones and other handsets; and wireless-enabled internet devices, such as tablets, and other wireless-enabled connected devices comprising smart watches.

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