Oakworth Capital Inc. Acquires 1,789 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Oakworth Capital Inc. increased its stake in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 28.5% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 8,071 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,789 shares during the quarter. Oakworth Capital Inc.’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $366,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. increased its holdings in Verizon Communications by 81.0% during the 1st quarter. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. now owns 543 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 243 shares during the period. Garde Capital Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the 1st quarter worth approximately $26,000. Cherry Tree Wealth Management LLC increased its stake 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 valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 244 shares during the period. Mainstream Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, EQ Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the first quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

NYSE:VZ opened at $42.11 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $177.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.03, a P/E/G ratio of 3.12 and a beta of 0.38. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $43.18 and its 200-day moving average price is $42.21. Verizon Communications Inc. has a twelve month low of $37.59 and a twelve month high of $47.36. The company has a current ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.19 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.15 by $0.04. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 13.14% and a return on equity of 19.66%. The company had revenue of $33.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.31 billion. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, July 10th will be given a $0.6775 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 10th. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.44%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 64.52%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on VZ shares. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Verizon Communications from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. Tigress Financial lifted 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 raised Verizon Communications from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $48.00 target price for the company in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Scotiabank upped their price target on Verizon Communications from $48.50 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Wolfe Research downgraded Verizon Communications from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $47.41.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 9,000 shares of Verizon Communications stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.10, for a total transaction of $396,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 10,008 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $441,352.80. The trade was a 47.35% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In the last three months, insiders sold 21,500 shares of company stock valued at $938,400. Insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

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).