BerganKDV Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ – Get Rating) by 3.8% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 92,111 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after purchasing an additional 3,397 shares during the period. BerganKDV Wealth Management LLC's holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $4,675,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

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Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Craig L. Silliman sold 1,558 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.42, for a total transaction of $80,112.36. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 33,403 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,717,582.26. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Verizon Communications Stock Down 1.0 %

VZ opened at $39.52 on Friday. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $43.77 and its 200-day simple moving average is $48.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.56, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a current ratio of 0.76. Verizon Communications Inc. has a twelve month low of $39.11 and a twelve month high of $55.51. The firm has a market cap of $165.97 billion, a price-to-earnings 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 data on Friday, July 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.31 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.32 by ($0.01). Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 26.95% and a net margin of 15.48%. The company had revenue of $33.79 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $33.77 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.37 EPS. The firm's revenue was up .1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 5.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, November 1st. Investors of record on Friday, October 7th will be given a $0.6525 dividend. This represents a $2.61 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.60%. This is an increase from Verizon Communications's previous quarterly dividend of $0.64. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 6th. Verizon Communications's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 51.30%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have issued reports on VZ shares. Moffett Nathanson cut shares of Verizon Communications from a "market perform" rating to an "underperform" rating and set a $41.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Thursday, August 18th. Bank of America cut shares of Verizon Communications from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and reduced their target price for the company from $64.00 to $51.00 in a research note on Thursday, July 28th. Credit Suisse Group reduced their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $58.00 to $54.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, June 21st. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $57.00 to $54.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, June 22nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $58.00 to $52.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 8th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price 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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