Beirne Wealth Consulting Services LLC raised its position in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ – Get Rating) by 4.9% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,732 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after buying an additional 405 shares during the period. Beirne Wealth Consulting Services LLC's holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $443,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. ETF Managers Group LLC boosted its stake in Verizon Communications by 5.0% in the fourth quarter. ETF Managers Group LLC now owns 11,844 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $619,000 after acquiring an additional 564 shares during the last quarter. LPL Financial LLC boosted its stake in Verizon Communications by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 4,033,732 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $209,593,000 after acquiring an additional 128,365 shares during the last quarter. William Allan LLC bought a new position in Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,850,000. Avaii Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $219,000. Finally, USAdvisors Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Verizon Communications by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. USAdvisors Wealth Management LLC now owns 11,628 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $604,000 after acquiring an additional 252 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.83% of the company's stock.

Get Verizon Communications alerts:

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VZ has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Scotiabank cut shares of Verizon Communications from a "sector outperform" rating to a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Friday, July 22nd. UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $57.00 to $47.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 25th. Moffett Nathanson cut shares of Verizon Communications from a "market perform" rating to an "underperform" rating and set a $41.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Thursday, August 18th. Raymond James reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $64.00 price target on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Thursday, July 7th. Finally, Cowen reduced their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $71.00 to $64.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 25th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Verizon Communications presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $55.61.

Insider Transactions at Verizon Communications

In other news, EVP Craig L. Silliman sold 1,558 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 33,403 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,717,582.26. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Verizon Communications Stock Down 1.0 %

Shares of VZ stock 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. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1 year low of $39.11 and a 1 year high of $55.51. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $43.77 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $48.41. The firm has a market capitalization of $165.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.92, a PEG ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 0.36.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ – Get Rating) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.32 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $33.79 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.77 billion. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 15.48% and a return on equity of 26.95%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up .1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.37 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 5.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

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

Verizon Communications Company Profile

(Get Rating)

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.

Further Reading

• Get a free copy of the StockNews.com research report on Verizon Communications (VZ)
• MarketBeat: Week in Review 9/19 – 9/23
• Why Does Tesla Stock Remain Resilient?
• Are Layoffs At A Small-Cap Tech A Bellwether For Housing Stocks?
• Is Costco's Post-Earnings Price Weakness A Good Time To Buy?
• 2 Semiconductor Stocks To Watch For Reversals

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding VZ? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ – Get Rating).

Receive News & Ratings for Verizon Communications Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Verizon Communications and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.