Beacon Financial Group Has $6.09 Million Holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Beacon Financial Group cut its stake in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 5.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 152,241 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after selling 9,003 shares during the period. Beacon Financial Group's holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $6,088,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of VZ. Signet Investment Advisory Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter worth approximately $262,000. Portfolio Design Labs LLC increased its holdings in Verizon Communications by 16.5% during the 4th quarter. Portfolio Design Labs LLC now owns 43,851 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $1,754,000 after purchasing an additional 6,196 shares during the last quarter. Fortress Financial Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter worth approximately $387,000. Augustine Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in Verizon Communications by 9.2% during the 4th quarter. Augustine Asset Management Inc. now owns 12,355 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $494,000 after purchasing an additional 1,040 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Reik & CO. LLC increased its holdings in Verizon Communications by 8.7% during the 4th quarter. Reik & CO. LLC now owns 12,463 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $498,000 after purchasing an additional 1,000 shares during the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on VZ shares. StockNews.com downgraded Verizon Communications from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, December 16th. Tigress Financial reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $55.00 price target on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Thursday, January 30th. KeyCorp downgraded Verizon Communications from an "overweight" rating to a "sector weight" rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Scotiabank boosted their price target on Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $47.50 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price target on Verizon Communications from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Verizon Communications currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $46.08.

Insider Transactions at Verizon Communications

In related news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 20,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, January 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.54, for a total transaction of $810,800.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 45,675 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,851,664.50. The trade was a 30.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders have sold 39,085 shares of company stock valued at $1,582,995 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.02% of the company's stock.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

VZ stock traded down $0.04 during trading on Friday, reaching $41.00. 12,430,351 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 24,606,066. The company has a quick ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1-year low of $37.58 and a 1-year high of $45.36. The company's fifty day moving average price is $39.94 and its 200-day moving average price is $41.56. The firm has a market cap of $172.59 billion, a PE ratio of 9.90, a P/E/G ratio of 4.17 and a beta of 0.45.

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

Verizon Communications Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 10th were given a dividend of $0.6775 per share. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.61%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 10th. Verizon Communications's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 65.46%.

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).