Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Holdings Increased by First Community Trust NA

First Community Trust NA increased its holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ – Get Rating) by 8.1% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 3,959 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after purchasing an additional 297 shares during the period. First Community Trust NA’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $156,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in VZ. HBC Financial Services PLLC bought a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Western Pacific Wealth Management LP raised its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 273.5% in the 3rd quarter. Western Pacific Wealth Management LP now owns 1,016 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 744 shares in the last quarter. Hoese & Co LLP raised its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 41.0% in the 3rd quarter. Hoese & Co LLP now owns 1,077 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 313 shares in the last quarter. Ten Capital Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 38.7% in the 3rd quarter. Ten Capital Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,236 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 345 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Avion Wealth increased its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 273.3% in the third quarter. Avion Wealth now owns 1,284 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $49,000 after acquiring an additional 940 shares in the last quarter. 60.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Tigress Financial dropped their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $68.00 to $64.00 in a research report on Friday, December 16th. Cowen dropped their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $55.00 to $49.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 25th. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $39.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 26th. Moffett Nathanson raised shares of Verizon Communications from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and set a $41.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 19th. Finally, Oppenheimer dropped their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $46.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Verizon Communications has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $47.63.

Insider Transactions at Verizon Communications

In other news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 6,226 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.69, for a total value of $228,431.94. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 67,966 shares in the company, valued at $2,493,672.54. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

VZ stock opened at $36.79 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.52. The company has a market capitalization of $154.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.27, a P/E/G ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 0.36. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12 month low of $34.55 and a 12 month high of $55.51. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $39.65 and a two-hundred day moving average of $38.99.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ – Get Rating) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, January 24th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.19 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.20 by ($0.01). Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 24.60% and a net margin of 15.53%. The business had revenue of $35.30 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $35.14 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.31 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 10th will be paid a $0.6525 dividend. This represents a $2.61 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.09%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 6th. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is 51.58%.

Verizon Communications Profile

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Verizon Communications, Inc is a holding company, which engages in the provision of communications, information, and entertainment products and services. It operates through the Verizon Consumer Group (Consumer) and Verizon Business Group (Business) segments. The Consumer segment provides consumer-focused wireless and wire line communications services and products.