Kiker Wealth Management LLC Acquires Shares of 15,604 Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Kiker Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 15,604 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock, valued at approximately $624,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in VZ. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. grew its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 150,411 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $6,013,000 after buying an additional 1,943 shares during the period. Douglass Winthrop Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 44.3% during the 4th quarter. Douglass Winthrop Advisors LLC now owns 39,832 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $1,593,000 after acquiring an additional 12,228 shares during the last quarter. HUB Investment Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. HUB Investment Partners LLC now owns 32,181 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $1,287,000 after acquiring an additional 798 shares during the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. lifted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 218,731 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $8,744,000 after purchasing an additional 1,980 shares during the period. Finally, Symmetry Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter worth $209,000. 62.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Verizon Communications Stock Down 0.9 %

Verizon Communications stock traded down $0.41 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $43.59. The stock had a trading volume of 18,043,602 shares, compared to its average volume of 18,346,765. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1-year low of $37.59 and a 1-year high of $47.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a current ratio of 0.63. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $41.63 and its 200-day simple moving average is $42.02. The stock has a market capitalization of $183.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.41.

Remove Ads

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 24th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates 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 quarter last year, the company earned $1.08 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VZ has been the topic of several analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price on Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $42.00 in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Scotiabank boosted 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. StockNews.com lowered shares of Verizon Communications from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, March 13th. Finally, Tigress Financial reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $55.00 price target on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Verizon Communications presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $46.53.

Insider Transactions at Verizon Communications

In related news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 8,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.88, for a total transaction of $319,040.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 6,590 shares in the company, valued at approximately $262,809.20. The trade was a 54.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Vandana Venkatesh sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 14,459 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $633,159.61. This represents a 40.88 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 49,085 shares of company stock worth $2,020,895 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.02% of the company's stock.

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).