Savvy Advisors Inc. Takes Position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Savvy Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 23,927 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock, valued at approximately $902,000. Verizon Communications accounts for approximately 0.9% of Savvy Advisors Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 22nd largest position.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of VZ. First Interstate Bank lifted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 4.3% in the 3rd quarter. First Interstate Bank now owns 9,544 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $309,000 after purchasing an additional 396 shares during the period. Peregrine Asset Advisers Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the third quarter worth about $277,000. Rocky Mountain Advisers LLC grew its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 8.2% during the 3rd quarter. Rocky Mountain Advisers LLC now owns 3,963 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $128,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares during the period. Community Bank & Trust Waco Texas raised its holdings in Verizon Communications by 10.7% in the 3rd quarter. Community Bank & Trust Waco Texas now owns 86,974 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $2,819,000 after purchasing an additional 8,390 shares during the period. Finally, Panagora Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in Verizon Communications by 2.1% during the third quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. now owns 233,400 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $7,564,000 after purchasing an additional 4,809 shares in the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on VZ. Citigroup upped their target price on Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 30th. Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $48.00 price objective on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Tuesday, April 23rd. StockNews.com upgraded Verizon Communications from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 4th. Tigress Financial boosted their price target on Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 25th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price objective on Verizon Communications from $37.00 to $43.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $44.21.

Insider Activity at Verizon Communications

In other news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 24,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.80, for a total transaction of $979,200.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 35,201 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,436,200.80. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Trading Down 0.7 %

NYSE:VZ traded down $0.27 on Thursday, reaching $40.22. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 7,162,038 shares, compared to its average volume of 19,450,285. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12-month low of $30.14 and a 12-month high of $43.42. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $40.31 and a 200 day moving average price of $39.25. The firm has a market cap of $169.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.42. 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 (NYSE:VZ) last posted its earnings results on Monday, April 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.15 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.12 by $0.03. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 8.44% and a return on equity of 20.41%. The company had revenue of $33 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $33.23 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.20 earnings per share. Verizon Communications’s revenue for the quarter was up .3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 10th were paid a $0.665 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, April 9th. This represents a $2.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.61%. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is presently 99.25%.

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).