Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Shares Bought by First National Corp MA ADV

First National Corp MA ADV raised its position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 9.4% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 9,598 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after acquiring an additional 823 shares during the quarter. First National Corp MA ADV’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $435,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Mainstream Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Mattson Financial Services LLC lifted its stake in Verizon Communications by 114.6% during 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. Graney & King LLC purchased a new stake in Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter worth approximately $32,000. Capital A Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, Compass Financial Services Inc purchased a new stake in Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter worth approximately $33,000. 62.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Verizon Communications

In other news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 7,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.88, for a total transaction of $329,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 19,008 shares in the company, valued at $834,071.04. This represents a 28.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Insiders sold 21,500 shares of company stock worth $938,400 over the last 90 days. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently weighed in on VZ. 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. Wolfe Research cut Verizon Communications from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. Tigress Financial boosted their price objective on Verizon Communications from $55.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Finally, Scotiabank boosted their price objective on Verizon Communications from $48.50 to $49.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Verizon Communications has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $47.41.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

Verizon Communications stock opened at $43.82 on Friday. 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 1.21, a current ratio of 0.63 and a quick ratio of 0.59. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $43.44 and a 200-day simple moving average of $42.28. The stock has a market capitalization of $184.76 billion, a PE ratio of 10.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.38.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last released its quarterly 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 return on equity of 19.80% and a net margin of 12.99%. The business had revenue of $33.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $33.31 billion. Equities analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current 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 paid a dividend of $0.6775 per share. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.18%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 64.52%.

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).