Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Shares Bought by Brown Lisle Cummings Inc.

Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. raised its position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 2.7% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 31,206 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after purchasing an additional 823 shares during the period. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc.’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $1,415,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in VZ. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. lifted its position 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 valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 243 shares in the last quarter. Cherry Tree Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 71.8% in 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 in the last quarter. Garde Capital Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the first quarter valued at $26,000. Mainstream Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, Mattson Financial Services LLC lifted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 114.6% in 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 in the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Verizon Communications news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 9,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 10,008 shares in the company, valued at $441,352.80. This trade represents a 47.35% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 21,500 shares of company stock worth $938,400. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

VZ stock opened at $41.70 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a current ratio of 0.61. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1 year low of $37.59 and a 1 year high of $47.36. The firm has a market cap of $175.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.38. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $43.32 and a 200-day simple moving average of $42.21.

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, beating 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 business had revenue of $33.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.31 billion. On average, equities analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 10th will be paid a $0.6775 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 10th. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.50%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 64.52%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VZ has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Tigress Financial increased their target price on Verizon Communications from $55.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $45.00 target price (up from $42.00) on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Tuesday, March 25th. Scotiabank increased their target price on Verizon Communications from $48.50 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Wall Street Zen downgraded Verizon Communications from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. Finally, Evercore ISI upgraded Verizon Communications from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $48.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $47.41.

About Verizon Communications

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).