Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. Increases Stock Position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 23.5% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 20,407 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,880 shares during the period. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc.’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $816,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. AMF Tjanstepension AB boosted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 58.0% during the third quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 1,756,452 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $78,975,000 after buying an additional 644,761 shares in the last quarter. Alpha Financial Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $224,000. Watts Gwilliam & Co. LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $481,000. Beaumont Financial Advisors LLC increased its stake in Verizon Communications by 13.7% in the 3rd quarter. Beaumont Financial Advisors LLC now owns 5,859 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $263,000 after purchasing an additional 705 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fermata Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Verizon Communications by 4.5% during the third quarter. Fermata Advisors LLC now owns 5,626 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $253,000 after purchasing an additional 243 shares during the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Verizon Communications

In related news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 8,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.88, for a total value of $319,040.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 6,590 shares in the company, valued at approximately $262,809.20. This trade represents a 54.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 39,085 shares of company stock worth $1,582,995. 0.02% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Verizon Communications Stock Down 0.2 %

VZ opened at $39.88 on Friday. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12 month low of $37.58 and a 12 month high of $45.36. The business has a 50-day moving average of $40.18 and a two-hundred day moving average of $41.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 0.63 and a quick ratio of 0.59. The stock has a market capitalization of $167.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.17 and a beta of 0.45.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last released its earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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. On average, research analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, January 10th were issued a $0.6775 dividend. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.80%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 10th. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is currently 65.46%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have weighed in on VZ. KeyCorp lowered Verizon Communications from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Argus raised shares of Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. UBS Group lifted 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. Tigress Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $55.00 price target on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, DZ Bank raised shares of Verizon Communications from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $40.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Verizon Communications currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $46.08.

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).