Strategic Financial Concepts LLC Makes New Investment in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Strategic Financial Concepts LLC acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 12,522 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock, valued at approximately $501,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Austin Private Wealth LLC grew its stake in Verizon Communications by 3.0% during the third quarter. Austin Private Wealth LLC now owns 8,450 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $379,000 after purchasing an additional 243 shares during the period. Cary Street Partners Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Verizon Communications by 3.4% during the third quarter. Cary Street Partners Asset Management LLC now owns 7,628 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $343,000 after purchasing an additional 249 shares during the period. First Personal Financial Services grew its stake in Verizon Communications by 0.3% during the third quarter. First Personal Financial Services now owns 91,092 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $4,091,000 after purchasing an additional 250 shares during the period. Encompass Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in Verizon Communications by 2.0% during the third quarter. Encompass Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 12,505 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $562,000 after purchasing an additional 250 shares during the period. Finally, First Dallas Securities Inc. grew its stake in Verizon Communications by 0.8% during the third quarter. First Dallas Securities Inc. now owns 31,728 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $1,425,000 after purchasing an additional 257 shares during the period. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Verizon Communications Stock Up 1.4 %

Shares of VZ stock traded up $0.62 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $43.11. The company had a trading volume of 11,530,604 shares, compared to its average volume of 22,645,846. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12 month low of $37.58 and a 12 month high of $45.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 0.63 and a quick ratio of 0.59. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $39.90 and a 200-day simple moving average of $41.59. The company has a market cap of $181.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.40 and a beta of 0.45.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.10 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 period in the prior year, the business earned $1.08 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, January 10th were issued 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 6.29%. Verizon Communications's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 65.46%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 11,085 shares of Verizon Communications stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.88, for a total transaction of $453,154.80. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 14,590 shares in the company, valued at approximately $596,439.20. This trade represents a 43.17 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 39,085 shares of company stock worth $1,582,995. 0.02% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently commented on VZ. DZ Bank raised Verizon Communications from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $40.00 target price for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. TD Cowen raised Verizon Communications to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Argus raised Verizon Communications to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $42.00 in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on Verizon Communications from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $46.08.

Verizon Communications 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).