Creekmur Asset Management LLC Has $434,000 Position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Creekmur Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 819.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 10,852 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after purchasing an additional 9,672 shares during the quarter. Creekmur Asset Management LLC's holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $434,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of VZ. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter worth about $2,300,846,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,083,337,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 7.3% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 108,694,230 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $4,346,682,000 after purchasing an additional 7,421,148 shares in the last quarter. Amundi lifted its stake in Verizon Communications by 32.3% during the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 25,227,069 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $983,445,000 after purchasing an additional 6,153,408 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 363,824,525 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $14,549,343,000 after buying an additional 5,697,337 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 62.06% of the company's stock.

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Verizon Communications Stock Down 1.4 %

NYSE VZ traded down $0.64 on Wednesday, reaching $44.74. The stock had a trading volume of 21,874,826 shares, compared to its average volume of 19,563,969. 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 1 year low of $37.59 and a 1 year high of $47.36. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $42.48 and a 200 day moving average price of $42.10. The company has a market capitalization of $188.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.81, a P/E/G ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.41.

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

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.6775 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.06%. Verizon Communications's dividend payout ratio is currently 65.46%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have issued reports on VZ shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on Verizon Communications from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Tigress Financial reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $55.00 price objective on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. They issued a "market perform" rating and a $48.00 target price for the company. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated a "sector perform" rating and set a $45.00 price target (up previously from $42.00) on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Verizon Communications presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $46.82.

Insider Activity at Verizon Communications

In other Verizon Communications news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 20,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.54, for a total value of $810,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 45,675 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,851,664.50. The trade was a 30.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Vandana Venkatesh sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.79, for a total value of $437,900.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,459 shares in the company, valued at approximately $633,159.61. This 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. Insiders own 0.03% 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).