40,489 Shares in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Bought by Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc.

Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 40,489 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock, valued at approximately $1,619,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of VZ. Mainstream Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 69.6% during 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 period. Graney & King LLC acquired a new stake in Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. Compass Financial Services Inc bought a new stake in Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, Hager Investment Management Services LLC acquired a new position in Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter valued at $38,000. Institutional investors own 62.06% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other Verizon Communications news, EVP Vandana Venkatesh sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.79, for a total transaction of $437,900.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,459 shares in the company, valued at approximately $633,159.61. This trade represents a 40.88 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Kyle Malady sold 11,085 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 14,590 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $596,439.20. The trade was a 43.17 % decrease in their position. 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. 0.02% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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Verizon Communications Trading Up 1.0 %

Shares of Verizon Communications stock traded up $0.47 on Monday, hitting $45.40. 15,828,172 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 19,542,577. The company has a market capitalization of $191.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.41. Verizon Communications Inc. has a one year low of $37.59 and a one year high of $47.36. The company has a fifty day moving average of $42.11 and a two-hundred day moving average of $42.07. 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 released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 24th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.10 EPS 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 in the prior year, the company posted $1.08 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect 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. Shareholders 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 (DPR) is 65.46%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VZ has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. TD Cowen raised Verizon Communications to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Royal Bank of Canada restated a "sector perform" rating and set a $45.00 price objective (up previously from $42.00) on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Tuesday, March 25th. Wolfe Research lowered Verizon Communications from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on Verizon Communications in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. They issued a "market perform" rating and a $48.00 price target for the company. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $46.71.

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).