Davidson Trust Co. Has $1.22 Million Stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Davidson Trust Co. raised its holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 95.5% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 26,785 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after purchasing an additional 13,082 shares during the quarter. Davidson Trust Co.’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $1,215,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Brighton Jones LLC increased its holdings in Verizon Communications by 61.2% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 43,986 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $1,759,000 after buying an additional 16,704 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Verizon Communications by 11.2% in the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 74,370 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $2,974,000 after acquiring an additional 7,502 shares during the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC raised its position in Verizon Communications by 64.4% during the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 11,127 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $445,000 after purchasing an additional 4,360 shares in the last quarter. Vision Financial Markets LLC acquired a new position in Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $749,000. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter worth $1,083,337,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Trading Up 0.1%

Shares of NYSE VZ opened at $43.62 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $43.19 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $42.26. The stock has a market cap of $183.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.23 and a beta of 0.37. 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 1.19, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a current ratio of 0.61.

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

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 10th will be given a dividend of $0.6775 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 10th. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.21%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 64.52%.

Insider Activity at Verizon Communications

In other Verizon Communications news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 9,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.10, for a total transaction of $396,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 10,008 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $441,352.80. This represents a 47.35% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders sold 21,500 shares of company stock valued at $938,400 over the last quarter. 0.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. 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. Wall Street Zen cut Verizon Communications from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. Scotiabank increased 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. Wolfe Research lowered shares of Verizon Communications from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. Finally, Tigress Financial upped their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $55.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $47.25.

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).