Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Position Raised by Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc.

Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. lifted its position in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 6.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 14,663 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after acquiring an additional 904 shares during the period. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc.’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $587,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of VZ. Prevail Innovative Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 337.5% during the fourth quarter. Prevail Innovative Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 32,640 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $1,305,000 after buying an additional 25,179 shares during the last quarter. Bcwm LLC bought a new stake in Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter valued at $4,251,000. United Bank bought a new stake in Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter valued at $265,000. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC boosted its position in Verizon Communications by 3.5% during the 4th quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 188,757 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $7,350,000 after acquiring an additional 6,432 shares during the period. Finally, California Public Employees Retirement System grew its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 14,963,751 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $598,400,000 after purchasing an additional 92,706 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

NYSE:VZ opened at $44.96 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 0.63 and a quick ratio of 0.59. The stock has a market cap of $189.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.86, a PEG ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $42.11 and a 200 day moving average price of $42.07. Verizon Communications Inc. has a one year low of $37.59 and a one year high of $47.36.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last released its earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.10 earnings per share 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 prior year, the firm posted $1.08 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.6775 per share. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.03%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is presently 65.46%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Wolfe Research downgraded shares of Verizon Communications from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. DZ Bank raised shares of Verizon Communications from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $40.00 price target for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Tigress Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $55.00 price objective on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. StockNews.com downgraded Verizon Communications from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $45.00 price target (up from $42.00) on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Tuesday, March 25th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $46.71.

Insider Activity

In other Verizon Communications news, EVP Vandana Venkatesh sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 14,459 shares in the company, valued at $633,159.61. This trade represents a 40.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Kyle Malady sold 20,000 shares of Verizon Communications stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.54, for a total value of $810,800.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 45,675 shares in the company, valued at $1,851,664.50. The trade was a 30.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 49,085 shares of company stock worth $2,020,895. Company insiders own 0.02% of the company’s stock.

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).