Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Shares Acquired by Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC

Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 9.7% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 145,570 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after acquiring an additional 12,916 shares during the period. Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $5,821,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Private Advisor Group LLC grew its holdings in Verizon Communications by 64.6% in the 4th quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 1,394,921 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $55,783,000 after buying an additional 547,384 shares in the last quarter. Keene & Associates Inc. boosted its position in Verizon Communications by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Keene & Associates Inc. now owns 85,373 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $3,414,000 after acquiring an additional 1,380 shares during the period. Financial Perspectives Inc grew its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 9.3% in the fourth quarter. Financial Perspectives Inc now owns 3,962 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $158,000 after purchasing an additional 337 shares in the last quarter. Laidlaw Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 4.2% during the fourth quarter. Laidlaw Wealth Management LLC now owns 16,555 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $662,000 after purchasing an additional 674 shares during the period. Finally, Plan Group Financial LLC raised its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 14.7% during the fourth quarter. Plan Group Financial LLC now owns 26,992 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $1,079,000 after purchasing an additional 3,454 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Verizon Communications

In related news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 8,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.88, for a total transaction of $319,040.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 6,590 shares in the company, valued at approximately $262,809.20. This trade represents a 54.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 39,085 shares of company stock valued at $1,582,995. Company insiders own 0.02% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

VZ stock opened at $42.04 on Thursday. Verizon Communications Inc. has a one year low of $37.58 and a one year high of $45.36. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $39.89 and a two-hundred day moving average of $41.58. The firm has a market capitalization of $176.95 billion, a PE ratio of 10.15, a P/E/G ratio of 4.28 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a current ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.10 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 in the previous year, the company posted $1.08 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast 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. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 10th were issued a dividend of $0.6775 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 10th. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.45%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is 65.46%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VZ has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Scotiabank raised their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $47.50 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. DZ Bank upgraded shares of Verizon Communications from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $40.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. StockNews.com downgraded Verizon Communications from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Wolfe Research lifted their price target on Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $51.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on 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 equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average 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).