Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Shares Acquired by CapWealth Advisors LLC

CapWealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 3.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 366,410 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after buying an additional 12,058 shares during the quarter. Verizon Communications accounts for about 1.6% of CapWealth Advisors LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 27th biggest holding. CapWealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $14,653,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in VZ. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV lifted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 107.3% during the 4th quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV now owns 97,698 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $3,907,000 after buying an additional 50,573 shares in the last quarter. Spinnaker Trust increased its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 6.1% during the fourth quarter. Spinnaker Trust now owns 28,248 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,130,000 after acquiring an additional 1,612 shares during the period. Rhumbline Advisers boosted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 8,090,790 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $323,551,000 after purchasing an additional 26,363 shares during the period. PUREfi Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter worth $340,000. Finally, ABC Arbitrage SA purchased a new stake in Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter worth about $745,000. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Verizon Communications Trading Down 0.1 %

Shares of Verizon Communications stock opened at $41.00 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $39.96 and a 200 day moving average price of $41.55. The company has a market capitalization of $172.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.90, 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 current ratio of 0.63 and a quick ratio of 0.59. 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 data on Friday, January 24th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.10 earnings per share 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 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.61%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 10th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is currently 65.46%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 20,000 shares of Verizon Communications stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.54, for a total value of $810,800.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 45,675 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,851,664.50. The trade was a 30.45 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 39,085 shares of company stock valued at $1,582,995. Insiders own 0.02% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on VZ. Tigress Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $55.00 price objective on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. StockNews.com cut shares of Verizon Communications from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Scotiabank lifted their target price on Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $47.50 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Argus raised Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. 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’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price 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).