Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Shares Purchased by Shorepoint Capital Partners LLC

Shorepoint Capital Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 9.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 95,705 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after acquiring an additional 7,890 shares during the period. Shorepoint Capital Partners LLC's holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $3,827,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of VZ. Mainstream Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. grew its stake in Verizon Communications by 69.6% during the fourth quarter. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 780 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 320 shares in the last quarter. Graney & King LLC purchased a new position in Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. Compass Financial Services Inc purchased a new position in Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, Hager Investment Management Services LLC bought a new position in Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter valued at $38,000. 62.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Verizon Communications Trading Up 1.1 %

VZ traded up $0.48 on Monday, reaching $42.39. 16,173,046 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 20,142,941. Verizon Communications Inc. has a one year low of $37.59 and a one year high of $47.36. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $43.65 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $41.95. The company has a market cap of $181.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a quick ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.19 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.15 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $33.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.31 billion. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 12.99% and a return on equity of 19.80%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be given a dividend of $0.6775 per share. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.39%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. Verizon Communications's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 64.52%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have commented on VZ shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective 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. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. StockNews.com lowered shares of Verizon Communications from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research 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 research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Scotiabank increased their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $48.50 to $49.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $47.41.

Insider Buying and Selling at Verizon Communications

In related news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.48, for a total transaction of $212,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 36,508 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,550,859.84. This represents a 12.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Vandana Venkatesh sold 10,000 shares of Verizon Communications stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.79, for a total transaction of $437,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,459 shares in the company, valued at $633,159.61. This represents a 40.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 34,085 shares of company stock valued at $1,422,495. Company insiders own 0.10% 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).