5,595 Shares in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Acquired by Blankinship & Foster LLC

Blankinship & Foster LLC 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 Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 5,595 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock, valued at approximately $224,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Mainstream Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new position in Verizon Communications in the 3rd quarter valued at about $31,000. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Verizon Communications by 69.6% in the 4th quarter. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 780 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 320 shares during the last quarter. Compass Financial Services Inc purchased a new position in Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, Hager Investment Management Services LLC purchased a new position in Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter valued at about $38,000. 62.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on VZ shares. Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. They issued a "market perform" rating and a $48.00 price objective for the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped 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. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $42.00 in a research report on Friday, January 24th. StockNews.com raised shares of Verizon Communications from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Wolfe Research increased their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $46.11.

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Insider Activity at Verizon Communications

In related news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 8,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.88, for a total transaction of $319,040.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 6,590 shares in the company, valued at $262,809.20. This trade represents a 54.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Vandana Venkatesh sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.79, for a total transaction of $437,900.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 14,459 shares in the company, valued at $633,159.61. This represents a 40.88 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 49,085 shares of company stock worth $2,020,895 over the last quarter. 0.02% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:VZ traded up $1.90 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $46.13. The stock had a trading volume of 44,982,282 shares, compared to its average volume of 17,835,933. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $40.61 and its 200 day simple moving average is $41.83. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1-year low of $37.59 and a 1-year high of $46.20. The firm has a market capitalization of $194.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.14, a PEG ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a current ratio of 0.63.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.10 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.11 by ($0.01). Verizon Communications had a net margin of 12.99% and a return on equity of 19.80%. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.08 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, April 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.6775 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.87%. Verizon Communications's dividend payout ratio is presently 65.46%.

About Verizon Communications

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).