Whitaker Myers Wealth Managers LTD. Makes New $325,000 Investment in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Whitaker Myers Wealth Managers LTD. acquired a new stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 8,117 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock, valued at approximately $325,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 69.6% during the 4th quarter. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 780 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 320 shares during the last quarter. Accordant Advisory Group Inc increased its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 137.6% during the 3rd quarter. Accordant Advisory Group Inc now owns 777 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 450 shares during the last quarter. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $44,000. Finally, IFS Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 244.1% during the 4th quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 1,115 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 791 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.06% of the company's stock.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

NYSE:VZ traded up $0.52 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $38.86. The stock had a trading volume of 23,987,092 shares, compared to its average volume of 17,659,684. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $41.03 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $41.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32, a current ratio of 0.66 and a quick ratio of 0.62. Verizon Communications Inc. has a one year low of $37.58 and a one year high of $45.36. The firm has a market capitalization of $163.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.75, a P/E/G ratio of 3.17 and a beta of 0.46.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.18 by $0.01. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 7.30% and a return on equity of 20.05%. The company had revenue of $33.30 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $33.42 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.22 EPS. The firm's revenue was up .9% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.6775 per share. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.97%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 10th. Verizon Communications's dividend payout ratio is currently 116.81%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on VZ. TD Cowen upgraded shares of Verizon Communications to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Tigress Financial lifted their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Scotiabank lifted their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $46.50 to $47.25 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. They issued a "market perform" rating and a $48.00 price objective for the company. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $46.54.

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).