Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Stake Raised by Legacy Financial Advisors Inc.

Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 0.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 34,601 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after acquiring an additional 288 shares during the period. Legacy Financial Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $1,304,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of VZ. WealthTrust Axiom LLC increased its position in Verizon Communications by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. WealthTrust Axiom LLC now owns 118,806 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $4,479,000 after purchasing an additional 2,422 shares during the last quarter. Portland Investment Counsel Inc. increased its position in Verizon Communications by 173.7% in the 3rd quarter. Portland Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 652,169 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $21,137,000 after purchasing an additional 413,869 shares during the last quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC increased its position in Verizon Communications by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 127,632 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $5,131,000 after purchasing an additional 1,616 shares during the last quarter. 180 Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 6.2% during the 3rd quarter. 180 Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 51,757 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $1,677,000 after acquiring an additional 3,020 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GFS Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter valued at about $212,000. 62.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

Shares of VZ stock traded down $0.04 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $38.89. The stock had a trading volume of 13,195,563 shares, compared to its average volume of 20,003,748. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $40.32 and its 200 day simple moving average is $38.79. The company has a quick ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42. Verizon Communications Inc. has a one year low of $30.14 and a one year high of $43.42. The firm has a market cap of $163.70 billion, a PE ratio of 14.51, a P/E/G ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.42.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.15 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.12 by $0.03. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 20.41% and a net margin of 8.44%. The company had revenue of $33 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $33.23 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.20 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up .3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.6 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 10th were given a dividend of $0.665 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, April 9th. This represents a $2.66 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.84%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 99.25%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 24,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.80, for a total transaction of $979,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 35,201 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,436,200.80. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.02% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently commented on VZ shares. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $40.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $48.00 price objective on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Tuesday, April 23rd. StockNews.com raised Verizon Communications from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday. Redburn Atlantic raised Verizon Communications from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $33.00 to $39.00 in a report on Friday, March 22nd. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, January 26th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $44.21.

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).