Balefire LLC Increases Holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

by · The Cerbat Gem

Balefire LLC lifted its holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ – Free Report) by 26.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 14,900 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,094 shares during the period. Balefire LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $676,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VZ. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. raised its stake 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 during the period. Cherry Tree Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Verizon Communications by 71.8% during the 1st quarter. Cherry Tree Wealth Management LLC now owns 584 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 244 shares during the last quarter. Garde Capital Inc. purchased a new stake in Verizon Communications in the 1st quarter worth about $26,000. Mainstream Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Finally, Mattson Financial Services LLC lifted its stake in Verizon Communications by 114.6% in the fourth quarter. Mattson Financial Services LLC now owns 777 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 415 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VZ has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $45.00 target price (up previously from $42.00) on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Tuesday, March 25th. Tigress Financial upped their price objective on Verizon Communications from $55.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Wolfe Research lowered shares of Verizon Communications from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Oppenheimer upped their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Finally, Evercore ISI raised shares of Verizon Communications from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $48.00 price target on the stock in a research note 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 issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $47.41.

Get Our Latest Research Report on Verizon Communications

Insider Transactions at Verizon Communications

In related news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 9,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.10, for a total transaction of $396,900.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 10,008 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $441,352.80. This trade represents a 47.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In the last three months, insiders sold 21,500 shares of company stock valued at $938,400. Corporate insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Stock Down 1.1%

Shares of Verizon Communications stock opened at $42.15 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 0.61 and a quick ratio of 0.58. The stock has a market cap of $177.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.04, a PEG ratio of 3.16 and a beta of 0.38. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $43.22 and its two-hundred day moving average is $42.21. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1 year low of $37.59 and a 1 year high of $47.36.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ – Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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. The firm had revenue of $33.50 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $33.31 billion. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 13.14% and a return on equity of 19.66%. As a group, research analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 10th will be given a $0.6775 dividend. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.43%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 10th. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is 64.52%.

Verizon Communications Company Profile

(Free Report)

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).

Featured Articles

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding VZ? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ – Free Report).