Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Shares Acquired by Accel Wealth Management

Accel Wealth Management boosted its stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 9.5% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 9,712 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after acquiring an additional 840 shares during the period. Accel Wealth Management’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $366,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of VZ. Certified Advisory Corp lifted its holdings 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 buying an additional 233 shares during the period. Pacifica Partners Inc. lifted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 4.6% during the 4th quarter. Pacifica Partners Inc. now owns 5,800 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $223,000 after buying an additional 255 shares during the period. Selective Wealth Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. Selective Wealth Management Inc. now owns 9,511 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $374,000 after buying an additional 257 shares during the period. Horizon Bancorp Inc. IN lifted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 24.9% during the 4th 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 period. Finally, SRS Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 12,558 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $407,000 after buying an additional 285 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Verizon Communications

In related news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 15,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.33, for a total value of $604,950.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 59,201 shares in the company, valued at $2,387,576.33. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.02% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Stock Up 1.0 %

VZ stock traded up $0.41 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $41.95. 19,763,083 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 20,343,715. The stock has a market cap of $176.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.25, a P/E/G ratio of 3.31 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a quick ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47. Verizon Communications Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $30.14 and a fifty-two week high of $43.21. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $40.57 and its 200 day moving average price is $37.34.

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

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 9th. This represents a $2.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.34%. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is presently 96.38%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VZ has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Barclays lifted their price objective on Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 26th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Verizon Communications from $40.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. Redburn Atlantic raised Verizon Communications from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $33.00 to $39.00 in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. Wolfe Research raised Verizon Communications from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $46.00 target price for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 4th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Verizon Communications from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Verizon Communications presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $43.86.

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).