Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Shares Purchased by Ascent Group LLC

Ascent Group LLC lifted its position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 0.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 154,102 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,249 shares during the period. Ascent Group LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $6,163,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Mainstream Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Graney & King LLC acquired a new position in Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Compass Financial Services Inc acquired a new position in Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter worth $33,000. Banque Transatlantique SA acquired a new position in Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter worth $35,000. Finally, Hager Investment Management Services LLC acquired a new position in Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter worth $38,000. 62.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Vandana Venkatesh sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 14,459 shares in the company, valued at approximately $633,159.61. This represents a 40.88% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Kyle Malady sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.48, for a total value of $212,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 36,508 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,550,859.84. The trade was a 12.05% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 31,500 shares of company stock worth $1,376,300 in the last quarter. 0.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have weighed in on VZ. Tigress Financial boosted their price objective on Verizon Communications from $55.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. 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 reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $45.00 price target (up previously from $42.00) on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Tuesday, March 25th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Verizon Communications from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $47.41.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

VZ stock opened at $43.38 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. The company has a market capitalization of $182.91 billion, a PE ratio of 10.48, a P/E/G ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.39. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12-month low of $37.59 and a 12-month high of $47.36. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $43.60 and its 200 day moving average price is $42.12.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.19 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.15 by $0.04. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.80% and a net margin of 12.99%. The company had revenue of $33.50 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $33.31 billion. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 10th were issued a dividend of $0.6775 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.25%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 64.52%.

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).