Insight Folios Inc Acquires 9,451 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Insight Folios Inc grew its holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 5.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 174,912 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after acquiring an additional 9,451 shares during the quarter. Verizon Communications accounts for about 2.9% of Insight Folios Inc’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 12th largest holding. Insight Folios Inc’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $6,594,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of VZ. Certified Advisory Corp boosted its position in Verizon Communications by 1.0% during the first quarter. Certified Advisory Corp now owns 23,297 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,187,000 after acquiring an additional 233 shares during the last quarter. Pacifica Partners Inc. boosted its position in Verizon Communications by 4.6% during the fourth quarter. Pacifica Partners Inc. now owns 5,800 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $223,000 after acquiring an additional 255 shares during the last quarter. Selective Wealth Management Inc. boosted its position in Verizon Communications by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. Selective Wealth Management Inc. now owns 9,511 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $374,000 after acquiring an additional 257 shares during the last quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 12,558 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $407,000 after purchasing an additional 285 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Salvus Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Salvus Wealth Management LLC now owns 26,265 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $990,000 after purchasing an additional 290 shares during the last quarter. 61.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Verizon Communications Trading Down 0.4 %

VZ stock traded down $0.17 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $40.37. The stock had a trading volume of 17,816,449 shares, compared to its average volume of 18,625,604. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $40.44 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $37.17. The company has a quick ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47. The firm has a market cap of $169.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.63, a PEG ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.40. Verizon Communications Inc. has a twelve month low of $30.14 and a twelve month high of $43.21.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, January 23rd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.08. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 20.71% and a net margin of 8.67%. The company had revenue of $35.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.60 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.19 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down .6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 10th will be paid a $0.665 dividend. This represents a $2.66 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.59%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 9th. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is 96.38%.

Insider Transactions at Verizon Communications

In related news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 15,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 directly owns 59,201 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,387,576.33. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.02% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 20th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 26th. KeyCorp increased their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 30th. Finally, Tigress Financial raised their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 25th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $43.86.

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).