6,203 Shares in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Purchased by Hall Capital Management Co. Inc.

Hall Capital Management Co. Inc. bought a new position in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm bought 6,203 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock, valued at approximately $248,000.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Liberty Square Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter worth about $477,000. Ameriflex Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter worth about $562,000. United Advisor Group LLC increased its stake in Verizon Communications by 4.7% during the fourth quarter. United Advisor Group LLC now owns 48,979 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,959,000 after acquiring an additional 2,187 shares during the last quarter. Challenger Wealth Management acquired a new stake in Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter worth about $395,000. Finally, Ascent Group LLC increased its stake in Verizon Communications by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Ascent Group LLC now owns 154,102 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $6,163,000 after acquiring an additional 1,249 shares during the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Verizon Communications Trading Up 0.6%

Shares of VZ opened at $43.38 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $182.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.48, a P/E/G ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.39. Verizon Communications Inc. has a one year low of $37.59 and a one year high of $47.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a current ratio of 0.63. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $43.60 and a 200 day moving average price of $42.12.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.19 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.15 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $33.50 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $33.31 billion. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.80% and a net margin of 12.99%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, April 10th were issued a $0.6775 dividend. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.25%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 10th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is currently 64.52%.

Insider Activity at Verizon Communications

In other Verizon Communications news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 9,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.10, for a total transaction of $396,900.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 10,008 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $441,352.80. This trade represents a 47.35% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Vandana Venkatesh sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.79, for a total value of $437,900.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,459 shares in the company, valued at approximately $633,159.61. This represents a 40.88% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 31,500 shares of company stock valued at $1,376,300. Insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have commented on the company. DZ Bank upgraded Verizon Communications from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $40.00 price target for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Wolfe Research lowered Verizon Communications from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $45.00 price target (up from $42.00) on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Tuesday, March 25th. Argus upgraded Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Scotiabank upped their price target on Verizon Communications from $48.50 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $47.41.

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).