Larson Financial Group LLC increased its position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 35.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 34,841 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after buying an additional 9,142 shares during the period. Larson Financial Group LLC's holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $1,393,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.
Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 27.7% in the fourth quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 222,366 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $8,892,000 after buying an additional 48,294 shares during the last quarter. Roffman Miller Associates Inc. PA raised its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Roffman Miller Associates Inc. PA now owns 382,678 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $15,303,000 after buying an additional 6,795 shares during the last quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the third quarter valued at approximately $3,376,000. Burney Co. raised its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 30.4% in the fourth quarter. Burney Co. now owns 186,621 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $7,463,000 after buying an additional 43,472 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Benjamin Edwards Inc. raised its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 1,934.5% in the third quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 1,080,015 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $48,503,000 after buying an additional 1,026,930 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.06% of the company's stock.
Insider Activity
In other Verizon Communications news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 8,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.88, for a total transaction of $319,040.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 6,590 shares in the company, valued at $262,809.20. This represents a 54.83 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Vandana Venkatesh sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.79, for a total transaction of $437,900.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 14,459 shares in the company, valued at $633,159.61. This trade represents a 40.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 49,085 shares of company stock worth $2,020,895. 0.02% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.
Verizon Communications Price Performance
Shares of VZ stock opened at $46.13 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $194.20 billion, a PE ratio of 11.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.41. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $40.61 and a 200-day simple moving average of $41.83. 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 Inc. has a twelve month low of $37.59 and a twelve month high of $46.20.
Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.10 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.11 by ($0.01). Verizon Communications had a net margin of 12.99% and a return on equity of 19.80%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.08 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement
The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be paid a $0.6775 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.87%. Verizon Communications's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 65.46%.
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth
Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Tigress Financial reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $55.00 price target on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $42.00 in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. They set a "market perform" rating and a $48.00 price target for the company. Wolfe Research upped their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Argus raised shares of Verizon Communications to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $46.11.
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About Verizon Communications
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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).
Further Reading
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