Ibex Wealth Advisors Buys Shares of 238,758 Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Ibex Wealth Advisors bought a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 238,758 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock, valued at approximately $9,548,000. Verizon Communications makes up 1.1% of Ibex Wealth Advisors' portfolio, making the stock its 23rd biggest position.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new position in Verizon Communications during the 3rd quarter worth $31,000. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. grew its stake in Verizon Communications by 69.6% during the 4th quarter. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 780 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 320 shares during the last quarter. Accordant Advisory Group Inc grew its stake in Verizon Communications by 137.6% during the 3rd quarter. Accordant Advisory Group Inc now owns 777 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 450 shares during the last quarter. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC grew its stake in Verizon Communications by 655.5% during the 4th quarter. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 967 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 839 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in Verizon Communications during the 3rd quarter worth $44,000. 62.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Verizon Communications Stock Down 0.2 %

VZ stock traded down $0.07 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $39.41. The stock had a trading volume of 45,176,702 shares, compared to its average volume of 22,944,896. The company has a current ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.59 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 has a fifty day moving average of $40.61 and a 200 day moving average of $41.57. The stock has a market capitalization of $165.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.52, a PEG ratio of 4.21 and a beta of 0.46.

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 return on equity of 19.80% and a net margin of 12.99%. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.08 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 10th will be given a $0.6775 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 10th. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.88%. Verizon Communications's payout ratio is 65.46%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VZ has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on Verizon Communications in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. They set a "market perform" rating and a $48.00 price target for the company. TD Cowen upgraded Verizon Communications to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. 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 research report on Wednesday. Argus upgraded Verizon Communications to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, KeyCorp lowered Verizon Communications from an "overweight" rating to a "sector weight" rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $46.08.

Insider Buying and Selling at Verizon Communications

In other Verizon Communications news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 11,085 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.88, for a total value of $453,154.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 14,590 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $596,439.20. The trade was a 43.17 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.02% of the company's stock.

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).