Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Holdings Boosted by Demars Financial Group LLC

Demars Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 18.9% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 738,673 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after acquiring an additional 117,201 shares during the period. Demars Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $33,506,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. increased its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 81.0% during 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. Mainstream Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Mattson Financial Services LLC increased its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 114.6% during 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 during the period. Graney & King LLC acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, Capital A Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently weighed in on VZ shares. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Verizon Communications from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $48.00 target price for the company in a report on Friday, April 11th. Tigress Financial raised their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $55.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 28th. Oppenheimer raised their target price 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. Wolfe Research cut shares of Verizon Communications from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. Finally, Scotiabank raised their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $48.50 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $47.41.

Insider Activity at Verizon Communications

In other Verizon Communications news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 7,500 shares of Verizon Communications stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.88, for a total transaction of $329,100.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 19,008 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $834,071.04. The trade was a 28.29% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 21,500 shares of company stock valued at $938,400. 0.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Verizon Communications Trading Down 1.2%

VZ opened at $42.48 on Tuesday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $43.44 and its 200-day moving average is $42.25. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1-year low of $37.59 and a 1-year high of $47.36. The company has a current ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. The company has a market cap of $179.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.26, a PEG 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 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.15 by $0.04. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 12.99% and a return on equity of 19.80%. The business had revenue of $33.50 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $33.31 billion. Equities research analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, July 10th will be given a $0.6775 dividend. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.38%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 10th. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is currently 64.52%.

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).