Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) is HF Advisory Group LLC’s 8th Largest Position

HF Advisory Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 23.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 89,926 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after purchasing an additional 16,823 shares during the quarter. Verizon Communications accounts for approximately 1.8% of HF Advisory Group LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 8th largest position. HF Advisory Group LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $4,079,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of VZ. Mainstream Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Mattson Financial Services LLC boosted its stake in Verizon Communications by 114.6% in the fourth quarter. Mattson Financial Services LLC now owns 777 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 415 shares in the last quarter. Graney & King LLC purchased a new stake in Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter worth approximately $32,000. Capital A Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, Compass Financial Services Inc purchased a new stake in Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter worth approximately $33,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 7,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.88, for a total value of $329,100.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 19,008 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $834,071.04. This represents a 28.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 21,500 shares of company stock worth $938,400. 0.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

VZ has been the subject of several recent research reports. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $45.00 price objective (up previously from $42.00) on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Tuesday, March 25th. 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 report on Monday, April 28th. Evercore ISI upgraded Verizon Communications from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $48.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. 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 report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $47.41.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

VZ opened at $43.33 on Thursday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $43.51 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $42.26. The company has a current ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. The company has a market cap of $182.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.39. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12-month low of $37.59 and a 12-month high of $47.36.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.15 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $33.50 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $33.31 billion. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.80% and a net margin of 12.99%. Research analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Company 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).