Persium Advisors LLC Makes New $655,000 Investment in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Persium Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 16,369 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock, valued at approximately $655,000. Verizon Communications comprises about 0.6% of Persium Advisors LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 21st biggest holding.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VZ. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new position 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 buying an additional 450 shares during the last quarter. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 69.6% during the 4th quarter. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 780 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 320 shares during the last quarter. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Verizon Communications during the third quarter worth about $44,000. Finally, McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in Verizon Communications by 762.6% in the third quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 1,061 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $48,000 after acquiring an additional 938 shares during the period. 62.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

Shares of VZ traded up $0.28 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $38.09. The company had a trading volume of 19,712,201 shares, compared to its average volume of 23,754,422. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12 month low of $37.58 and a 12 month high of $45.36. The firm has a market cap of $160.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.42, a PEG ratio of 3.05 and a beta of 0.46. The business has a fifty day moving average of $41.23 and a 200-day moving average of $41.78. The company has a quick ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.19 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.18 by $0.01. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 20.05% and a net margin of 7.30%. The company had revenue of $33.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $33.42 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.22 EPS. Verizon Communications's revenue was up .9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 10th will be paid a $0.6775 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 10th. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.11%. Verizon Communications's dividend payout ratio is currently 116.81%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Raymond James boosted their price objective on Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 24th. Tigress Financial lifted their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. They set a "market perform" rating and a $48.00 target price on the stock. Scotiabank increased their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $46.50 to $47.25 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Finally, UBS Group upped their target price on Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price 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).