Yoffe Investment Management LLC Invests $899,000 in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Yoffe Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 22,475 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock, valued at approximately $899,000.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in VZ. Mainstream Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 69.6% in the fourth quarter. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 780 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 320 shares during the period. Graney & King LLC purchased a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. Compass Financial Services Inc acquired a new position in Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, Hager Investment Management Services LLC purchased a new stake in Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter worth about $38,000. 62.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Verizon Communications

In related news, EVP Vandana Venkatesh sold 10,000 shares of Verizon Communications 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,459 shares of the company's stock, valued at $633,159.61. The trade was a 40.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Kyle Malady sold 11,085 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.88, for a total transaction of $453,154.80. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 14,590 shares in the company, valued at approximately $596,439.20. This represents a 43.17 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 49,085 shares of company stock valued at $2,020,895 in the last 90 days. 0.03% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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Verizon Communications Stock Performance

VZ stock traded down $2.51 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $43.11. The stock had a trading volume of 42,633,412 shares, compared to its average volume of 19,717,249. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52 week low of $37.59 and a 52 week high of $47.36. 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 stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $42.68 and a 200 day simple moving average of $42.11. The firm has a market capitalization of $181.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.41, a P/E/G ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.41.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 24th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.10 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.11 by ($0.01). Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.80% and a net margin of 12.99%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.08 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, April 10th will be given a dividend of $0.6775 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.29%. Verizon Communications's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 65.46%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Tigress Financial reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $55.00 target price on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Scotiabank increased their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.50 to $48.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. They set a "market perform" rating and a $48.00 price target on the stock. Finally, UBS Group increased their price objective on Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $46.82.

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).