Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Stock Position Lifted by F M Investments LLC

F M Investments LLC boosted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 19.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 129,952 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after buying an additional 21,282 shares during the quarter. F M Investments LLC's holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $5,197,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VZ. Mainstream Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Verizon Communications by 69.6% in the 4th quarter. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 780 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 320 shares in the last quarter. Graney & King LLC acquired a new stake in Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Compass Financial Services Inc purchased a new position in Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter worth $33,000. Finally, Hager Investment Management Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter worth $38,000. 62.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently commented on VZ shares. Argus raised Verizon Communications to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Wolfe Research downgraded shares of Verizon Communications from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. DZ Bank upgraded Verizon Communications from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $40.00 price target for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Tigress Financial restated a "buy" rating and set a $55.00 price objective on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $46.92.

Remove Ads

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Vandana Venkatesh sold 10,000 shares of the 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 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Kyle Malady sold 20,000 shares of Verizon Communications stock in a transaction on Monday, January 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.54, for a total transaction 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 approximately $1,851,664.50. This trade represents a 30.45 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 49,085 shares of company stock worth $2,020,895 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.02% of the company's stock.

Verizon Communications Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of VZ stock traded up $0.14 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $44.44. The company had a trading volume of 10,040,640 shares, compared to its average volume of 25,848,674. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $43.15 and its 200 day simple moving average is $42.02. The company has a market capitalization of $187.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a current ratio of 0.63. Verizon Communications Inc. has a twelve month low of $37.58 and a twelve month high of $47.35.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 12.99% and a return on equity of 19.80%. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.08 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be given a $0.6775 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.10%. Verizon Communications's payout ratio is currently 65.46%.

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).