Intellus Advisors LLC Purchases New Holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Intellus Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 7,246 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock, valued at approximately $290,000.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Mainstream Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 69.6% in the fourth quarter. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 780 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 320 shares during the last quarter. Compass Financial Services Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Hager Investment Management Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Finally, Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 655.5% in the fourth quarter. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 967 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 839 shares during the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other 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 value of $319,040.00. Following 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Vandana Venkatesh sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.79, for a total transaction of $437,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 14,459 shares in the company, valued at approximately $633,159.61. The trade was a 40.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 49,085 shares of company stock worth $2,020,895 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.02% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Trading Up 0.7 %

Shares of Verizon Communications stock opened at $44.06 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $185.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.64, a PEG ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a quick ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12-month low of $37.59 and a 12-month high of $47.36. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $41.52 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $42.01.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 19.80% and a net margin of 12.99%. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.08 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.6775 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.15%. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is 65.46%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective on Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $42.00 in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Argus raised Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. StockNews.com cut Verizon Communications from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. UBS Group raised their price objective on Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Tigress Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $55.00 target price on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $46.11.

Verizon Communications 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).