Sierra Ocean LLC Acquires 621 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Sierra Ocean LLC boosted its position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 46.1% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,969 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after purchasing an additional 621 shares during the period. Sierra Ocean LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $89,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in VZ. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. raised its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 81.0% during the first quarter. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. now owns 543 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 243 shares in the last quarter. Cherry Tree Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 71.8% during the first quarter. Cherry Tree Wealth Management LLC now owns 584 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 244 shares in the last quarter. Garde Capital Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the first quarter worth $26,000. Mattson Financial Services LLC increased its position in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Graney & King LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. Institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Verizon Communications

In other Verizon Communications news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 9,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.10, for a total transaction of $396,900.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 10,008 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $441,352.80. This trade represents a 47.35% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 21,500 shares of company stock worth $938,400. Company insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Trading Up 0.1%

NYSE VZ opened at $43.62 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 0.61 and a quick ratio of 0.58. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $43.23 and its 200 day moving average price is $42.29. The company has a market capitalization of $183.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.23 and a beta of 0.37. 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 earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.19 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.15 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $33.50 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $33.31 billion. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 13.14% and a return on equity of 19.66%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 10th will be given a dividend of $0.6775 per share. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.21%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 10th. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is currently 64.52%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on VZ. Scotiabank boosted their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $48.50 to $49.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Wolfe Research downgraded shares of Verizon Communications from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. 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 target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $55.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Finally, Oppenheimer boosted their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $47.25.

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).