Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Holdings Boosted by Spring Capital Management LLC

Spring Capital Management LLC raised its position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 10.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 74,453 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,870 shares during the quarter. Verizon Communications comprises approximately 2.2% of Spring Capital Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 21st biggest holding. Spring Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $2,807,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in VZ. Certified Advisory Corp grew its position in Verizon Communications by 1.0% during the 1st quarter. Certified Advisory Corp now owns 23,297 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,187,000 after purchasing an additional 233 shares in the last quarter. Pacifica Partners Inc. raised its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 4.6% during the fourth quarter. Pacifica Partners Inc. now owns 5,800 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $223,000 after buying an additional 255 shares during the last quarter. Selective Wealth Management Inc. raised its position in Verizon Communications by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. Selective Wealth Management Inc. now owns 9,511 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $374,000 after purchasing an additional 257 shares in the last quarter. Horizon Bancorp Inc. IN grew its stake in Verizon Communications by 24.9% during the fourth quarter. Horizon Bancorp Inc. IN now owns 1,293 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $49,000 after buying an additional 258 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SRS Capital Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 2.3% during the third quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 12,558 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $407,000 after purchasing an additional 285 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Verizon Communications

In related news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 24,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.80, for a total value of $979,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 35,201 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,436,200.80. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.02% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VZ has been the topic of several analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $40.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $37.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. Daiwa Capital Markets upgraded shares of Verizon Communications from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $36.00 to $47.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Verizon Communications from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. Finally, Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 30th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $43.86.

Verizon Communications Stock Up 0.1 %

NYSE:VZ opened at $41.60 on Thursday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $40.52 and its 200-day moving average price is $37.31. The company has a market capitalization of $174.90 billion, a PE ratio of 15.05, a P/E/G ratio of 3.31 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47, a current ratio of 0.69 and a quick ratio of 0.65. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1-year low of $30.14 and a 1-year high of $43.21.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 23rd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.08. The company had revenue of $35.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $34.60 billion. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 8.67% and a return on equity of 20.71%. Verizon Communications’s revenue was down .6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.19 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 10th will be paid a $0.665 dividend. This represents a $2.66 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.39%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 9th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 96.38%.

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).