Bryce Point Capital LLC Acquires Shares of 12,079 Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Bryce Point Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 12,079 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock, valued at approximately $483,000.

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

Verizon Communications Trading Up 1.4 %

Shares of VZ traded up $0.60 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $43.18. 10,097,500 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 25,233,789. The firm has a market cap of $181.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.43, a PEG ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.41. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12-month low of $37.58 and a 12-month high of $47.35. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $42.72 and its 200 day moving average price is $42.08. The company has a current ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21.

Remove Ads

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 (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 prior year, the firm posted $1.08 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, April 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.6775 per share. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.28%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. Verizon Communications's payout ratio is 65.46%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have weighed in on VZ. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Verizon Communications from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, March 13th. Wolfe Research cut shares of Verizon Communications from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. Tigress Financial restated a "buy" rating and set a $55.00 target price on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Scotiabank increased their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.50 to $48.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, Argus upgraded Verizon Communications to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $46.82.

Insider Buying and Selling at Verizon Communications

In related news, EVP Vandana Venkatesh sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.79, for a total value of $437,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,459 shares of the company's stock, valued at $633,159.61. This trade represents a 40.88 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Kyle Malady sold 20,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 45,675 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,851,664.50. This represents a 30.45 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 49,085 shares of company stock valued at $2,020,895. 0.02% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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).