Empirical Asset Management LLC Purchases 21,451 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Empirical Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 177.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 33,544 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after buying an additional 21,451 shares during the quarter. Empirical Asset Management LLC's holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $1,341,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Kestra Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the third quarter worth $3,376,000. Cyndeo Wealth Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 9.7% in the 3rd quarter. Cyndeo Wealth Partners LLC now owns 202,521 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $9,095,000 after acquiring an additional 17,855 shares during the last quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. raised its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 1,934.5% in the 3rd quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 1,080,015 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $48,503,000 after acquiring an additional 1,026,930 shares during the period. Burney Co. grew its holdings in Verizon Communications by 30.4% during the fourth quarter. Burney Co. now owns 186,621 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $7,463,000 after purchasing an additional 43,472 shares during the period. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott LLC increased its stake in Verizon Communications by 2.9% in the third quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 2,058,443 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $92,445,000 after purchasing an additional 57,583 shares in the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Verizon Communications Stock Up 1.4 %

VZ stock traded up $0.52 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $38.86. The company had a trading volume of 23,987,092 shares, compared to its average volume of 17,659,684. The company has a market capitalization of $163.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.75, a PEG ratio of 3.17 and a beta of 0.46. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52 week low of $37.58 and a 52 week high of $45.36. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $41.03 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $41.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32, a current ratio of 0.66 and a quick ratio of 0.62.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.19 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.18 by $0.01. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 7.30% and a return on equity of 20.05%. The business had revenue of $33.30 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $33.42 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.22 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up .9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, January 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.6775 per share. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.97%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 10th. Verizon Communications's payout ratio is currently 116.81%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Tigress Financial boosted their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. Raymond James lifted their price objective on Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, September 24th. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. They set a "market perform" rating and a $48.00 price objective on the stock. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $46.54.

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).