TRUE Private Wealth Advisors Has $2.14 Million Position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

TRUE Private Wealth Advisors reduced its position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 1.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 53,452 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 1,030 shares during the period. TRUE Private Wealth Advisors’ holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $2,138,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Mainstream Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of 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 last quarter. Graney & King LLC acquired a new position in Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Compass Financial Services Inc bought a new position in Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, Hager Investment Management Services LLC acquired a new stake in Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter worth $38,000. Institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 8,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.88, for a total transaction of $319,040.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 6,590 shares in the company, valued at $262,809.20. This represents a 54.83 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed 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 value of $437,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 14,459 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $633,159.61. The trade was a 40.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 49,085 shares of company stock valued at $2,020,895 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.02% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Stock Down 1.2 %

Shares of VZ opened at $42.09 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $177.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.17, a PEG ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.41. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52 week low of $37.59 and a 52 week high of $47.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a current ratio of 0.63. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $42.79 and a 200-day moving average of $42.06.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.10 earnings per share 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 period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.08 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.6775 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.44%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 65.46%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently issued reports on VZ. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on Verizon Communications from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $45.00 target price (up from $42.00) on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Tuesday, March 25th. Oppenheimer increased their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. 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. Finally, DZ Bank upgraded shares of Verizon Communications from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $40.00 target price on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $46.85.

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).