Drum Hill Capital LLC Buys Shares of 107,253 Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Drum Hill Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 107,253 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock, valued at approximately $4,289,000. Verizon Communications comprises 5.3% of Drum Hill Capital LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 4th largest holding.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of VZ. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new stake in Verizon Communications during the 3rd quarter worth $31,000. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 69.6% during the fourth quarter. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 780 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 320 shares during the period. Compass Financial Services Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. Hager Investment Management Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter valued at about $38,000. Finally, Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 655.5% in the 4th quarter. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 967 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 839 shares during the period. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $42.00 in a report on Friday, January 24th. Wolfe Research upped their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on Verizon Communications from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. TD Cowen upgraded Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Finally, DZ Bank upgraded 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. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $46.08.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

NYSE VZ opened at $42.77 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $180.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.40 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. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $39.91 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $41.61. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1 year low of $37.58 and a 1 year high of $45.36.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last issued its 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 quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.08 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 10th. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.34%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is currently 65.46%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 11,085 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.88, for a total transaction of $453,154.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 14,590 shares in the company, valued at approximately $596,439.20. This trade represents a 43.17 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In the last three months, insiders have sold 39,085 shares of company stock valued at $1,582,995. 0.02% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Verizon Communications Company Profile

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).