Redmond Asset Management LLC Has $1.98 Million Stock Holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Redmond Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 34.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 49,378 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after acquiring an additional 12,595 shares during the quarter. Redmond Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $1,975,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 27.7% in the fourth quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 222,366 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $8,892,000 after acquiring an additional 48,294 shares during the last quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the third quarter worth $3,376,000. Burney Co. increased its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 30.4% in the fourth quarter. Burney Co. now owns 186,621 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $7,463,000 after acquiring an additional 43,472 shares during the last quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. increased its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 1,934.5% in the third quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 1,080,015 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $48,503,000 after acquiring an additional 1,026,930 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Global Wealth Management Investment Advisory Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter worth $4,333,000. 62.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 8,000 shares of the 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 6,590 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $262,809.20. This represents a 54.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders sold 39,085 shares of company stock valued at $1,582,995 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.02% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Stock Up 0.7 %

Shares of VZ opened at $42.77 on Friday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $39.91 and a 200-day simple moving average of $41.61. The firm has a market capitalization of $180.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.33, a P/E/G ratio of 4.40 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 52 week low of $37.58 and a 52 week high of $45.36.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 24th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.10 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 last year, the business posted $1.08 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, January 10th were given a $0.6775 dividend. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.34%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 10th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 65.46%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on VZ. Wolfe Research upped their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. DZ Bank upgraded shares of Verizon Communications from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $40.00 price objective for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Scotiabank upped their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $47.50 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $48.00 price objective for the company. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $46.08.

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).