Crews Bank & Trust Takes $562,000 Position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Crews Bank & Trust purchased a new position in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm purchased 14,065 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock, valued at approximately $562,000.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Capital Investment Advisory Services LLC increased its position in Verizon Communications by 7.1% during the fourth quarter. Capital Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 68,554 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $2,741,000 after buying an additional 4,553 shares during the last quarter. Lewis Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 5.3% in the fourth quarter. Lewis Asset Management LLC now owns 22,470 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $899,000 after buying an additional 1,125 shares during the last quarter. Coston McIsaac & Partners boosted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Coston McIsaac & Partners now owns 104,009 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $4,159,000 after acquiring an additional 1,199 shares in the last quarter. Synergy Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 118.7% during the 4th quarter. Synergy Asset Management LLC now owns 105,540 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $4,471,000 after acquiring an additional 57,275 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Gries Financial LLC raised its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Gries Financial LLC now owns 47,882 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $1,915,000 after acquiring an additional 478 shares in the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

Verizon Communications stock traded down $0.82 on Thursday, hitting $39.47. The company's stock had a trading volume of 26,729,330 shares, compared to its average volume of 25,559,129. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $40.75 and a 200-day moving average price of $41.60. The firm has a market cap of $166.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.27 and a beta of 0.46. Verizon Communications Inc. has a one year low of $37.58 and a one year high of $45.36. The company has a quick ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.11 by ($0.01). Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 20.05% and a net margin of 7.30%. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.08 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.59 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, January 10th will be paid a $0.6775 dividend. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.87%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 10th. Verizon Communications's dividend payout ratio is 116.81%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on VZ shares. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price on Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $42.00 in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Scotiabank upped their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $47.50 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Monday. Argus upgraded shares of Verizon Communications to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday. StockNews.com lowered shares of Verizon Communications from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on Verizon Communications from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Verizon Communications presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $46.08.

Insider Buying and Selling at Verizon Communications

In other news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 20,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.54, for a total value of $810,800.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 45,675 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,851,664.50. The trade was a 30.45 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.02% 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).