28,707 Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ Shares Acquired by Welch Group LLC

Welch Group LLC lifted its holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 2.4% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,229,866 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after buying an additional 28,707 shares during the period. Verizon Communications makes up approximately 1.9% of Welch Group LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 23rd biggest holding. Welch Group LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $56,414,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of VZ. Cornerstone Capital Inc. raised its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 8.6% in the second quarter. Cornerstone Capital Inc. now owns 317,284 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $13,434,000 after buying an additional 25,156 shares during the period. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. grew its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 127.0% during the 2nd quarter. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. now owns 184,170 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $7,798,000 after acquiring an additional 103,046 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. increased its holdings in Verizon Communications by 30.6% in the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 5,718,859 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $287,081,000 after acquiring an additional 1,339,580 shares during the last quarter. Quantitative Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Verizon Communications in the 2nd quarter worth about $1,577,000. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp raised its stake in Verizon Communications by 9.7% in the 2nd quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 3,553,629 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $150,461,000 after acquiring an additional 315,546 shares during the period. 62.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Wednesday, August 26th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $43.00 to $47.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday, July 27th. Scotiabank reduced their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $51.50 to $50.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 9th. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group lowered their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $55.00 to $52.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 27th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and sixteen have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $51.05.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Verizon Communications news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 1,100 shares of Verizon Communications stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.00, for a total transaction of $47,300.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 98,866 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,251,238. This trade represents a 1.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 11,000 shares of company stock worth $516,373 in the last quarter. 0.03% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

VZ stock opened at $44.81 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $47.04 and a 200-day moving average of $46.73. The company has a current ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12 month low of $38.68 and a 12 month high of $51.68. The firm has a market capitalization of $186.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 0.26.

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

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

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