MOKAN Wealth Management Inc. Invests $589,000 in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

MOKAN Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 14,729 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock, valued at approximately $589,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new stake in Verizon Communications in the third quarter worth $31,000. Accordant Advisory Group Inc grew its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 137.6% during the 3rd quarter. Accordant Advisory Group Inc now owns 777 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 450 shares during the period. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 69.6% in the fourth 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 period. Compass Financial Services Inc bought a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, Hager Investment Management Services LLC purchased a new stake in Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter worth $38,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.06% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 20,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.54, for a total transaction of $810,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 45,675 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,851,664.50. The trade was a 30.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 39,085 shares of company stock worth $1,582,995. 0.03% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

Verizon Communications stock traded up $0.84 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $42.04. The company had a trading volume of 21,033,611 shares, compared to its average volume of 23,136,020. The company has a market capitalization of $176.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.15, a P/E/G ratio of 4.28 and a beta of 0.45. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12-month low of $37.58 and a 12-month high of $45.36. The company's fifty day moving average is $39.89 and its 200-day moving average is $41.58. 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 (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 analysts' consensus estimates 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 quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.08 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 10th were given a dividend of $0.6775 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 10th. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.45%. Verizon Communications's dividend payout ratio is currently 65.46%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have weighed in on VZ. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $42.00 in a report on Friday, January 24th. KeyCorp downgraded shares of Verizon Communications from an "overweight" rating to a "sector weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. UBS Group increased 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. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Finally, TD Cowen upgraded shares of Verizon Communications to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $46.08.

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).