Alliance Wealth Management Group Makes New Investment in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Alliance Wealth Management Group purchased a new position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 5,696 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock, valued at approximately $228,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Mainstream Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in Verizon Communications by 69.6% in the fourth quarter. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 780 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 320 shares in the last quarter. Graney & King LLC bought a new position in Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Compass Financial Services Inc acquired a new position in Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter worth $33,000. Finally, Hager Investment Management Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter worth about $38,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.06% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Vandana Venkatesh sold 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Kyle Malady sold 11,085 shares of Verizon Communications stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.88, for a total value of $453,154.80. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 14,590 shares in the company, valued at approximately $596,439.20. The trade was a 43.17 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 49,085 shares of company stock worth $2,020,895 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.02% of the company's stock.

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Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VZ has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Tigress Financial reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $55.00 price target on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. UBS Group increased their target price on Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday. Argus upgraded Verizon Communications to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $46.82.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE VZ traded up $0.02 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $45.38. 15,707,748 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 19,545,393. Verizon Communications Inc. has a twelve month low of $37.59 and a twelve month high of $47.36. The firm has a market cap of $191.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.96, a PEG ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.41. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $42.36 and its 200-day moving average price is $42.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 0.63 and a quick ratio of 0.59.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 net margin of 12.99% and a return on equity of 19.80%. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.08 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be paid a $0.6775 dividend. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.97%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. Verizon Communications's dividend payout ratio is currently 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).