Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Shares Acquired by Moran Wealth Management LLC

Moran Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 1.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 82,700 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,389 shares during the quarter. Moran Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $3,307,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in VZ. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 7.3% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 108,694,230 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $4,346,682,000 after purchasing an additional 7,421,148 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 95,824,245 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $4,289,054,000 after purchasing an additional 2,081,241 shares during the period. FMR LLC boosted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 29,074,297 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $1,305,727,000 after purchasing an additional 565,842 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,083,337,000. Finally, Amundi boosted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 32.3% in the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 25,227,069 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $983,445,000 after purchasing an additional 6,153,408 shares during the period. 62.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently issued reports on VZ shares. Tigress Financial reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $55.00 target price on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. TD Cowen raised Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Wolfe Research upped their price objective on Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $51.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on Verizon Communications from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Finally, DZ Bank raised Verizon Communications from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $40.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Verizon Communications currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $46.11.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

Shares of VZ stock opened at $46.55 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $195.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.41. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $40.75 and a 200-day simple moving average of $41.88. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12-month low of $37.59 and a 12-month high of $47.36. The company has a current ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last issued its earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.11 by ($0.01). Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.80% and a net margin of 12.99%. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.08 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, April 10th will be paid a $0.6775 dividend. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.82%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is currently 65.46%.

Insider Activity at Verizon Communications

In related news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 11,085 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.88, for a total value of $453,154.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 14,590 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $596,439.20. This trade represents a 43.17 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Vandana Venkatesh sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.79, for a total value of $437,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,459 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $633,159.61. The trade was a 40.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 49,085 shares of company stock valued at $2,020,895 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.02% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Company 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).