11,350 Shares in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Purchased by Peak Financial Management Inc.

Peak Financial Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 11,350 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock, valued at approximately $428,000.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. CGC Financial Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the second quarter valued at approximately $32,000. HBC Financial Services PLLC increased its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 320.0% in the third quarter. HBC Financial Services PLLC now owns 1,050 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 800 shares in the last quarter. RVW Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the third quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Financial Management Professionals Inc. increased its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 58.4% in the fourth quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. now owns 1,096 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 404 shares in the last quarter. Finally, True Wealth Design LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $42,000. 62.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.33, for a total transaction of $604,950.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 59,201 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,387,576.33. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.02% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

Shares of Verizon Communications stock opened at $41.95 on Friday. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52 week low of $30.14 and a 52 week high of $43.21. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $40.57 and its 200-day simple moving average is $37.34. The firm has a market cap of $176.37 billion, a PE ratio of 15.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.37 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a quick ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 23rd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.08 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.08. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 20.71% and a net margin of 8.67%. The business had revenue of $35.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.60 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.19 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down .6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.61 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 10th will be paid a $0.665 dividend. This represents a $2.66 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.34%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 9th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 96.38%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently commented on the company. Daiwa Capital Markets upgraded Verizon Communications from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $36.00 to $47.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. Barclays boosted their price target on Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 26th. Raymond James boosted their price target on Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. Citigroup boosted their price target on Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 30th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on Verizon Communications from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 20th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $43.86.

About Verizon Communications

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).