Mid American Wealth Advisory Group Inc. Decreases Stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Mid American Wealth Advisory Group Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 22.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 109,143 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 30,893 shares during the quarter. Verizon Communications makes up approximately 2.8% of Mid American Wealth Advisory Group Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 13th biggest position. Mid American Wealth Advisory Group Inc.’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $4,115,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VZ. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Verizon Communications by 4.8% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 98,027,542 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $3,151,714,000 after purchasing an additional 4,527,387 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its position in Verizon Communications by 17.0% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 28,400,326 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $920,455,000 after buying an additional 4,134,150 shares during the period. Comerica Bank acquired a new position in Verizon Communications during the third quarter worth approximately $133,491,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its position in Verizon Communications by 3,782.4% during the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 3,974,813 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $149,850,000 after buying an additional 3,872,434 shares during the period. Finally, Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec increased its position in Verizon Communications by 104.0% during the third quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 5,302,051 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $171,839,000 after buying an additional 2,703,197 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have commented on the company. Daiwa Capital Markets raised Verizon Communications from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $36.00 to $47.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. Raymond James lifted 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. StockNews.com raised Verizon Communications from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $48.00 target price on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Finally, Barclays boosted 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 analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $44.21.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

VZ stock traded up $0.48 on Monday, reaching $40.16. 12,300,735 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 20,055,846. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $40.46 and a 200-day moving average of $38.61. Verizon Communications Inc. has a twelve month low of $30.14 and a twelve month high of $43.42. The firm has a market cap of $169.04 billion, a PE ratio of 15.14, a P/E/G ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 0.41. 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 announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.15 earnings per share 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 firm had revenue of $33 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.23 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.20 earnings per share. Verizon Communications’s quarterly revenue was up .3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 10th will be paid a $0.665 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 9th. This represents a $2.66 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.62%. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is currently 99.25%.

Insider Activity at Verizon Communications

In related news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 24,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.80, for a total value of $979,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 35,201 shares in the company, valued at $1,436,200.80. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

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).