Simplicity Wealth LLC Invests $1.68 Million in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Simplicity Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 36,975 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock, valued at approximately $1,677,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Mainstream Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Mattson Financial Services LLC lifted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 114.6% during the 4th quarter. Mattson Financial Services LLC now owns 777 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 415 shares in the last quarter. Capital A Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Graney & King LLC purchased a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Banque Transatlantique SA purchased a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter valued at $35,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Verizon Communications

In other news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 9,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.10, for a total value of $396,900.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 10,008 shares in the company, valued at $441,352.80. The trade was a 47.35% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders have sold a total of 21,500 shares of company stock worth $938,400 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE VZ opened at $44.12 on Wednesday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $43.39 and its two-hundred day moving average is $42.30. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52-week low of $37.59 and a 52-week high of $47.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a current ratio of 0.63. The company has a market cap of $186.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.66, a P/E/G ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.38.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.19 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.15 by $0.04. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 12.99% and a return on equity of 19.80%. The firm had revenue of $33.50 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $33.31 billion. As a group, analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 10th will be issued 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 6.14%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 64.52%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VZ has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Tigress Financial lifted their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $55.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Wolfe Research cut shares of Verizon Communications from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Royal Bank of Canada restated 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. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Verizon Communications from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. Finally, Oppenheimer lifted their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $47.41.

Verizon Communications 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).