Portfolio Design Labs LLC Increases Position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Portfolio Design Labs LLC raised its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 16.5% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 43,851 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,196 shares during the quarter. Portfolio Design Labs LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $1,754,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in Verizon Communications during the third quarter worth $31,000. Accordant Advisory Group Inc lifted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 137.6% during the third quarter. Accordant Advisory Group Inc now owns 777 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 450 shares during the period. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 69.6% during the fourth quarter. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 780 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 320 shares during the period. Compass Financial Services Inc purchased a new stake in Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter worth $33,000. Finally, Hager Investment Management Services LLC purchased a new stake in Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter worth $38,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. Tigress Financial restated a “buy” rating and set a $55.00 target price on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Thursday, January 30th. KeyCorp lowered Verizon Communications from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. DZ Bank raised Verizon Communications from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $40.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price target on Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $42.00 in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, TD Cowen raised Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Ten 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 company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $46.08.

Insider Transactions at Verizon Communications

In related news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 8,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 6,590 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $262,809.20. This trade represents a 54.83 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders have sold a total of 39,085 shares of company stock valued at $1,582,995 in the last ninety days. 0.02% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

Shares of VZ opened at $40.48 on Wednesday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $40.10 and its two-hundred day moving average is $41.56. The company has a market capitalization of $170.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.78, a P/E/G ratio of 4.17 and a beta of 0.45. 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 fifty-two week low of $37.58 and a fifty-two week high of $45.36.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) 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 previous year, the business earned $1.08 EPS. Research analysts predict 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. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 10th were paid a dividend of $0.6775 per share. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.70%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 10th. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is currently 65.46%.

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).