Douglass Winthrop Advisors LLC Purchases 12,228 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Douglass Winthrop Advisors LLC raised its position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 44.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 39,832 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after purchasing an additional 12,228 shares during the quarter. Douglass Winthrop Advisors LLC's holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $1,593,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Kirtland Hills Capital Management LLC raised its position in Verizon Communications by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Kirtland Hills Capital Management LLC now owns 10,968 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $439,000 after purchasing an additional 252 shares during the last quarter. First Dallas Securities Inc. raised its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 0.8% during the third quarter. First Dallas Securities Inc. now owns 31,728 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $1,425,000 after acquiring an additional 257 shares during the last quarter. JB Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. JB Capital LLC now owns 20,816 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $832,000 after acquiring an additional 258 shares during the period. Curbstone Financial Management Corp boosted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Curbstone Financial Management Corp now owns 34,786 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $1,391,000 after acquiring an additional 262 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC increased its position in Verizon Communications by 9.9% during the 4th quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 2,915 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $117,000 after purchasing an additional 263 shares during the period. 62.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Verizon Communications Stock Down 0.9 %

VZ stock traded down $0.41 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $43.59. 18,043,602 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 18,346,754. 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 firm's 50 day moving average price is $41.52 and its 200 day moving average price is $42.01. The stock has a market cap of $183.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.53, a P/E/G ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.41. Verizon Communications Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $37.59 and a fifty-two week high of $47.36.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 company posted $1.08 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be issued a $0.6775 dividend. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.22%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. Verizon Communications's dividend payout ratio is presently 65.46%.

Insider Activity at Verizon Communications

In related news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 11,085 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 29th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $596,439.20. This trade represents a 43.17 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Vandana Venkatesh sold 10,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.79, for a total transaction of $437,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 14,459 shares in the company, valued at approximately $633,159.61. The trade was a 40.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 49,085 shares of company stock valued at $2,020,895. 0.02% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

VZ has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. DZ Bank upgraded Verizon Communications from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $40.00 price target for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. StockNews.com downgraded Verizon Communications from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on Verizon Communications in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. They set a "market perform" rating and a $48.00 target price for the company. Finally, Scotiabank boosted their price target on Verizon Communications from $47.50 to $48.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $46.53.

Verizon Communications 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).