Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Shares Bought by Private Advisor Group LLC

Private Advisor Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 64.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,394,921 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after acquiring an additional 547,384 shares during the quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $55,783,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. AMF Tjanstepension AB raised its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 58.0% during the 3rd quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 1,756,452 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $78,975,000 after buying an additional 644,761 shares during the last quarter. Alpha Financial Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the 3rd quarter valued at about $224,000. Swedbank AB raised its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 5,174,541 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $232,389,000 after buying an additional 39,403 shares during the last quarter. Horst & Graben Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the 3rd quarter valued at about $318,000. Finally, Waterway Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 34.9% in the 3rd quarter. Waterway Wealth Management LLC now owns 14,819 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $666,000 after purchasing an additional 3,834 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on VZ shares. Argus raised Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. UBS Group upped their price target on Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. TD Cowen raised Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on Verizon Communications from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, DZ Bank raised 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. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $46.08.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 11,085 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.88, for a total value of $453,154.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 14,590 shares in the company, valued at approximately $596,439.20. This represents a 43.17 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Over the last three months, insiders sold 39,085 shares of company stock worth $1,582,995. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

VZ stock opened at $41.21 on Wednesday. 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 business has a 50 day simple moving average of $39.89 and a 200-day simple moving average of $41.58. The firm has a market capitalization of $173.49 billion, a PE ratio of 9.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.28 and a beta of 0.45. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1 year low of $37.58 and a 1 year high of $45.36.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last posted its quarterly 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 period in the previous year, the business earned $1.08 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 10th were given a $0.6775 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 10th. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.58%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 65.46%.

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).