Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton lifted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ – Get Rating) by 7.1% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 10,986 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after acquiring an additional 727 shares during the period. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton's holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $567,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Virginia Retirement Systems ET AL grew its holdings in Verizon Communications by 0.5% during the 1st quarter. Virginia Retirement Systems ET AL now owns 1,996,800 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $101,717,000 after acquiring an additional 9,200 shares during the last quarter. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC grew its holdings in Verizon Communications by 860.0% during the 1st quarter. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC now owns 336,892 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $17,161,000 after acquiring an additional 301,800 shares during the last quarter. WC Walker & Associates Inc. grew its holdings in Verizon Communications by 2.7% during the 1st quarter. WC Walker & Associates Inc. now owns 41,306 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $2,236,000 after acquiring an additional 1,096 shares during the last quarter. Wilson & Boucher Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Verizon Communications by 1.2% during the 1st quarter. Wilson & Boucher Capital Management LLC now owns 17,693 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $901,000 after acquiring an additional 202 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CRA Financial Services LLC grew its holdings in Verizon Communications by 9.1% during the 1st quarter. CRA Financial Services LLC now owns 16,518 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $841,000 after acquiring an additional 1,375 shares during the last quarter. 62.83% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

VZ opened at $39.52 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.56. The company's fifty day moving average price is $43.77 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $48.38. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1-year low of $39.11 and a 1-year high of $55.51. The company has a market cap of $165.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.92, a PEG ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 0.36.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, November 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 7th will be issued a dividend of $0.6525 per share. This is an increase from Verizon Communications's previous quarterly dividend of $0.64. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 6th. This represents a $2.61 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.60%. Verizon Communications's dividend payout ratio is presently 51.30%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Verizon Communications news, EVP Craig L. Silliman sold 1,558 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.42, for a total transaction of $80,112.36. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 33,403 shares in the company, valued at $1,717,582.26. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.10% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a "hold" rating and set a $57.00 target price on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Friday, June 24th. UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $57.00 to $47.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 25th. Barclays lowered shares of Verizon Communications from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, July 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $58.00 to $52.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 8th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Verizon Communications from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Verizon Communications has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $55.61.

Verizon Communications Company Profile

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Verizon Communications Inc, through its subsidiaries, offers communications, technology, information, and entertainment products and services to consumers, businesses, and governmental entities worldwide. Its Consumer segment provides postpaid and prepaid service plans; internet access on notebook computers and tablets; wireless equipment, including smartphones and other handsets; and wireless-enabled internet devices, such as tablets, and other wireless-enabled connected devices comprising smart watches.

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