Altrius Capital Management Inc Boosts Holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

by · The Cerbat Gem

Altrius Capital Management Inc grew its holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ – Free Report) by 1.2% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 113,900 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,296 shares during the quarter. Altrius Capital Management Inc’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $5,167,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in VZ. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 61.2% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 43,986 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $1,759,000 after purchasing an additional 16,704 shares during the period. Compass Capital Corp MA ADV purchased a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $328,000. Drum Hill Capital LLC purchased a new position in Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter worth approximately $4,289,000. Lloyd Advisory Services LLC. lifted its stake in Verizon Communications by 5.4% in the fourth quarter. Lloyd Advisory Services LLC. now owns 15,006 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $600,000 after acquiring an additional 766 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Greystone Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in Verizon Communications by 25.5% in the fourth quarter. Greystone Financial Group LLC now owns 190,132 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $7,603,000 after acquiring an additional 38,655 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

Shares of Verizon Communications stock opened at $41.70 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $43.32 and its 200-day simple moving average is $42.21. The stock has a market capitalization of $175.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.93, a PEG ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.38. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12 month low of $37.59 and a 12 month high of $47.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 0.61 and a quick ratio of 0.58.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ – Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.15 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $33.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $33.31 billion. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 13.14% and a return on equity of 19.66%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 10th will be paid a $0.6775 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 10th. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.50%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is currently 64.52%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Verizon Communications

In other Verizon Communications news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 7,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.88, for a total value of $329,100.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 19,008 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $834,071.04. The trade was a 28.29% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In the last three months, insiders have sold 21,500 shares of company stock valued at $938,400. 0.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Verizon Communications from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. Scotiabank lifted their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $48.50 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $45.00 price target (up previously from $42.00) on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Tuesday, March 25th. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. Finally, Wolfe Research downgraded shares of Verizon Communications from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Nine 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 company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $47.41.

Check Out Our Latest Stock Report on VZ

About Verizon Communications

(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).

See Also

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