Allworth Financial LP Raises Holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Allworth Financial LP grew its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 125.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 325,052 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after purchasing an additional 181,074 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP's holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $12,661,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new position in Verizon Communications in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Accordant Advisory Group Inc raised its holdings in Verizon Communications by 137.6% in the 3rd quarter. Accordant Advisory Group Inc now owns 777 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 450 shares during the last quarter. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. raised its holdings 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 worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 320 shares during the last quarter. Compass Financial Services Inc purchased a new position in Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, Hager Investment Management Services LLC purchased a new position in Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter worth approximately $38,000. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Wolfe Research boosted their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. DZ Bank raised Verizon Communications from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $40.00 price target on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $42.00 in a report on Friday, January 24th. UBS Group increased their price target on Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Verizon Communications from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, December 16th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $46.08.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

VZ stock traded up $0.84 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $42.04. The company's stock had a trading volume of 21,033,611 shares, compared to its average volume of 23,136,020. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1 year low of $37.58 and a 1 year high of $45.36. The company has a quick ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. The company has a market capitalization of $176.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.28 and a beta of 0.45. The company's fifty day moving average is $39.89 and its 200-day moving average is $41.58.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.10 earnings per share (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 period in the previous year, the business posted $1.08 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 10th were paid a $0.6775 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 10th. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.45%. Verizon Communications's payout ratio is presently 65.46%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 11,085 shares of the firm's 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 14,590 shares in the company, valued at $596,439.20. This trade represents a 43.17 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In the last quarter, insiders sold 39,085 shares of company stock worth $1,582,995. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

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).