Sunbelt Securities Inc. Grows Stock Position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Sunbelt Securities Inc. increased its position in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 1.9% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 107,976 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,965 shares during the period. Sunbelt Securities Inc.’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $4,276,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VZ. Mainstream Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Graney & King LLC acquired a new stake in Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. Compass Financial Services Inc purchased a new position in Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. Banque Transatlantique SA acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter worth approximately $35,000. Finally, Hager Investment Management Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $38,000. 62.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

VZ opened at $43.10 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $43.62 and its 200 day moving average price is $42.10. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12-month low of $37.59 and a 12-month high of $47.36. The firm has a market cap of $181.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.41, a PEG ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a current ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.19 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.15 by $0.04. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 12.99% and a return on equity of 19.80%. The firm had revenue of $33.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $33.31 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, April 10th were given a $0.6775 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.29%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 64.52%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Verizon Communications news, EVP Vandana Venkatesh sold 10,000 shares of Verizon Communications stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.79, for a total value of $437,900.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,459 shares in the company, valued at approximately $633,159.61. The trade was a 40.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Kyle Malady sold 9,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.10, for a total transaction of $396,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 10,008 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $441,352.80. The trade was a 47.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 31,500 shares of company stock worth $1,376,300 in the last quarter. 0.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VZ has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on Verizon Communications from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. DZ Bank raised shares of Verizon Communications from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $40.00 price objective for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $45.00 price objective (up from $42.00) on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Tuesday, March 25th. Tigress Financial boosted their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $55.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 28th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Verizon Communications from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 13th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $47.41.

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).