Raab & Moskowitz Asset Management LLC Acquires 2,623 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Raab & Moskowitz Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 4.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 58,937 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,623 shares during the period. Raab & Moskowitz Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $2,222,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Portland Investment Counsel Inc. grew its position in Verizon Communications by 173.7% in the third quarter. Portland Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 652,169 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $21,137,000 after acquiring an additional 413,869 shares in the last quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 127,632 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $5,131,000 after buying an additional 1,616 shares during the period. 180 Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 6.2% during the 3rd quarter. 180 Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 51,757 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,677,000 after buying an additional 3,020 shares during the period. GFS Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter worth $212,000. Finally, Fidelity D & D Bancorp Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the 3rd quarter worth $306,000. 62.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.33, for a total transaction of $604,950.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 59,201 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,387,576.33. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.02% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Verizon Communications Trading Up 1.2 %

Shares of VZ stock opened at $39.68 on Friday. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52-week low of $30.14 and a 52-week high of $43.42. The stock has a market cap of $166.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.81, a P/E/G ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a current ratio of 0.71. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $40.46 and a 200-day moving average of $38.56.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.12 by $0.03. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 8.44% and a return on equity of 20.41%. The company had revenue of $33 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $33.23 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.20 EPS. The business’s revenue was up .3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 10th will be given a dividend of $0.665 per share. This represents a $2.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.70%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 9th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 99.25%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently issued reports on VZ shares. Citigroup upped their price objective 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. Daiwa Capital Markets raised shares of Verizon Communications from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $36.00 to $47.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. Raymond James upped their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $37.00 to $43.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. Finally, Wolfe Research raised shares of Verizon Communications from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $46.00 price target for the company in a report on Thursday, January 4th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $44.21.

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).