AlphaCentric Advisors LLC Acquires Shares of 10,000 Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

AlphaCentric Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 10,000 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock, valued at approximately $400,000.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the third quarter worth $31,000. Accordant Advisory Group Inc raised its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 137.6% in the third quarter. Accordant Advisory Group Inc now owns 777 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 450 shares during the last quarter. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. raised its stake 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 purchasing an additional 320 shares during the last quarter. Compass Financial Services Inc purchased a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter worth $33,000. Finally, Hager Investment Management Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter worth $38,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.06% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Verizon Communications news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 8,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.88, for a total transaction of $319,040.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 6,590 shares in the company, valued at $262,809.20. This represents a 54.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 39,085 shares of company stock worth $1,582,995. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:VZ traded up $0.77 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $41.97. The stock had a trading volume of 12,317,665 shares, compared to its average volume of 22,814,617. 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 company has a market cap of $176.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.28 and a beta of 0.45. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1 year low of $37.58 and a 1 year high of $45.36. The business's 50 day moving average price is $39.89 and its 200 day moving average price is $41.58.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last posted its 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 return on equity of 19.80% and a net margin of 12.99%. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.08 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, January 10th were given a $0.6775 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 10th. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.46%. Verizon Communications's dividend payout ratio is currently 65.46%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VZ has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Tigress Financial restated a "buy" rating and issued a $55.00 price target on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Wolfe Research lifted their price objective on Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on Verizon Communications in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. They issued a "market perform" rating and a $48.00 price objective for the company. Argus raised Verizon Communications to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on Verizon Communications from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $46.08.

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).