Callan Family Office LLC Invests $815,000 in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Callan Family Office LLC purchased a new position in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 20,376 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock, valued at approximately $815,000.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of VZ. Swedbank AB grew its holdings in Verizon Communications by 0.8% during the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 5,174,541 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $232,389,000 after acquiring an additional 39,403 shares during the period. Philip James Wealth Mangement LLC acquired a new position in Verizon Communications during the third quarter worth $201,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new position in Verizon Communications during the third quarter worth $31,000. Leavell Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in Verizon Communications by 31.0% during the third quarter. Leavell Investment Management Inc. now owns 50,231 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $2,256,000 after acquiring an additional 11,896 shares during the period. Finally, Equitable Trust Co. grew its holdings in Verizon Communications by 5.1% during the third quarter. Equitable Trust Co. now owns 43,328 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $1,946,000 after acquiring an additional 2,104 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.06% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VZ has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. StockNews.com raised Verizon Communications from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday. TD Cowen raised Verizon Communications to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Scotiabank upped their target price on Verizon Communications from $47.50 to $48.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd. UBS Group upped their target price on Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, DZ Bank raised Verizon Communications from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $40.00 target price on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $46.11.

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Verizon Communications Stock Performance

NYSE VZ opened at $46.13 on Friday. The business's 50-day moving average price is $40.61 and its 200 day moving average price is $41.83. Verizon Communications Inc. has a twelve month low of $37.59 and a twelve month high of $46.20. The company has a market capitalization of $194.20 billion, a PE ratio of 11.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a current ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.10 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.11 by ($0.01). Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.80% and a net margin of 12.99%. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.08 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, April 10th will be given a dividend of $0.6775 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.87%. Verizon Communications's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 65.46%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Vandana Venkatesh sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.79, for a total value of $437,900.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,459 shares in the company, valued at $633,159.61. This trade represents a 40.88 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Kyle Malady sold 11,085 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.88, for a total value of $453,154.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 14,590 shares in the company, valued at approximately $596,439.20. This trade represents a 43.17 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 49,085 shares of company stock worth $2,020,895. 0.02% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Verizon Communications 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).

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