MSH Capital Advisors LLC Invests $2.08 Million in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

MSH Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 52,090 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock, valued at approximately $2,083,000.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Marshall Wace LLP raised its holdings in Verizon Communications by 11.2% in the 4th quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 2,837,031 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $113,453,000 after buying an additional 286,359 shares during the last quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 97,634 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $3,904,000 after acquiring an additional 2,526 shares during the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 6.1% during the fourth quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 590,590 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $23,618,000 after purchasing an additional 33,845 shares during the period. Master S Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter worth $425,000. Finally, Twin Focus Capital Partners LLC increased its holdings in Verizon Communications by 4.6% in the fourth quarter. Twin Focus Capital Partners LLC now owns 8,266 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $331,000 after purchasing an additional 366 shares during the period. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Verizon Communications news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 8,000 shares of Verizon Communications stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.88, for a total value of $319,040.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 6,590 shares of the company's stock, valued at $262,809.20. The trade was a 54.83 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Vandana Venkatesh sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.79, for a total value of $437,900.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,459 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $633,159.61. This trade represents a 40.88 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 49,085 shares of company stock valued at $2,020,895. Corporate insiders own 0.02% of the company's stock.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

Shares of VZ stock traded up $0.40 on Friday, reaching $44.01. The company's stock had a trading volume of 16,479,869 shares, compared to its average volume of 20,166,753. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12-month low of $37.59 and a 12-month high of $47.36. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $43.39 and its 200-day simple moving average is $42.04. 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 company has a market capitalization of $185.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.63, a PEG ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.41.

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 return on equity of 19.80% and a net margin of 12.99%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.08 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

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 issued a $0.6775 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.16%. Verizon Communications's payout ratio is 65.46%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have weighed in on VZ. StockNews.com downgraded Verizon Communications from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, March 13th. DZ Bank upgraded shares of Verizon Communications from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $40.00 price objective for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on 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 raised Verizon Communications to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $46.92.

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).