Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. Buys 8,603 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. grew its holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 25.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 42,523 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after purchasing an additional 8,603 shares during the period. Ausdal Financial Partners Inc.'s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $1,700,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. TrueMark Investments LLC increased its holdings in Verizon Communications by 47.5% in the 4th quarter. TrueMark Investments LLC now owns 193,781 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $7,749,000 after purchasing an additional 62,383 shares in the last quarter. Financial Engines Advisors L.L.C. raised its holdings in Verizon Communications by 70.2% in the 4th quarter. Financial Engines Advisors L.L.C. now owns 42,639 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $1,705,000 after buying an additional 17,580 shares during the last quarter. UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp grew its holdings in Verizon Communications by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp now owns 38,872 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $1,555,000 after acquiring an additional 311 shares during the last quarter. Morey & Quinn Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $493,000. Finally, Summitry LLC raised its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 12.2% during the fourth quarter. Summitry LLC now owns 122,559 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $4,901,000 after acquiring an additional 13,278 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.06% of the company's stock.

Verizon Communications Stock Down 0.0 %

Shares of NYSE:VZ traded down $0.01 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $44.96. 19,526,803 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 19,509,713. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $42.11 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $42.08. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12-month low of $37.59 and a 12-month high of $47.36. The stock has a market cap of $189.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.86, a P/E/G ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.41. 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 (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.08 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be issued a $0.6775 dividend. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.03%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. Verizon Communications's dividend payout ratio is presently 65.46%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have commented on the company. Scotiabank lifted their target price on Verizon Communications from $47.50 to $48.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on Verizon Communications from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Tigress Financial restated a "buy" rating and issued a $55.00 price target on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Verizon Communications from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, March 13th. Finally, Wolfe Research lowered Verizon Communications from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Verizon Communications has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $46.71.

Insider Activity at Verizon Communications

In other news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 11,085 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.88, for a total transaction of $453,154.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 14,590 shares of the company's stock, valued at $596,439.20. This represents a 43.17 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Vandana Venkatesh sold 10,000 shares of Verizon Communications stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,459 shares in the company, valued at $633,159.61. This trade represents a 40.88 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 49,085 shares of company stock valued at $2,020,895. 0.02% of the stock is owned by insiders.

About Verizon Communications

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).