Hedges Asset Management LLC Buys 1,200 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Hedges Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 2.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 59,250 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after buying an additional 1,200 shares during the quarter. Verizon Communications accounts for 1.6% of Hedges Asset Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 14th largest holding. Hedges Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $2,369,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of VZ. Secure Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Verizon Communications by 7.7% in the 4th quarter. Secure Asset Management LLC now owns 20,784 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $831,000 after buying an additional 1,492 shares during the last quarter. Red Door Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 5.2% during the fourth quarter. Red Door Wealth Management LLC now owns 111,817 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $4,472,000 after acquiring an additional 5,480 shares during the last quarter. Donoghue Forlines LLC increased its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 26.1% during the fourth quarter. Donoghue Forlines LLC now owns 37,386 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $1,495,000 after acquiring an additional 7,739 shares during the last quarter. Baron Silver Stevens Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter worth $200,000. Finally, Whalen Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter worth $497,000. 62.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

NYSE VZ opened at $39.17 on Friday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $40.93 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $41.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32, a current ratio of 0.66 and a quick ratio of 0.62. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1 year low of $37.58 and a 1 year high of $45.36. The stock has a market capitalization of $164.89 billion, a PE ratio of 16.88, a P/E/G ratio of 3.27 and a beta of 0.46.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.18 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $33.30 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $33.42 billion. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 20.05% and a net margin of 7.30%. The firm’s revenue was up .9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.22 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 10th will be given a dividend of $0.6775 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 10th. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.92%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 116.81%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VZ has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Scotiabank lifted their target price on Verizon Communications from $46.50 to $47.25 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $48.00 price objective on the stock. TD Cowen raised shares of Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $41.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, September 26th. Finally, KeyCorp lowered Verizon Communications from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $46.54.

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).