Crew Capital Management Ltd. Takes Position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Crew Capital Management Ltd. purchased a new stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 5,436 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock, valued at approximately $205,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA increased its holdings in Verizon Communications by 627.8% during the 4th quarter. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA now owns 655 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 565 shares during the period. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC increased its holdings in Verizon Communications by 130.1% during the 4th quarter. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC now owns 863 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 488 shares during the period. Cetera Trust Company N.A bought a new stake in Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter worth approximately $37,000. Finally, Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in Verizon Communications by 3,233.3% during the 4th quarter. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 1,000 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 970 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Trading Up 1.1 %

Shares of NYSE:VZ traded up $0.42 on Monday, hitting $40.10. The company had a trading volume of 19,838,559 shares, compared to its average volume of 20,158,041. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $40.46 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $38.61. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1 year low of $30.14 and a 1 year high of $43.42. The company has a quick ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42. The firm has a market capitalization of $168.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.14, a P/E/G ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 0.41.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.12 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $33 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.23 billion. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 8.44% and a return on equity of 20.41%. Verizon Communications’s quarterly revenue was up .3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.20 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Investors 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.63%. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is 99.25%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on VZ shares. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, January 26th. Raymond James increased their price target 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. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $36.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Wolfe Research raised shares of Verizon Communications from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $46.00 price target on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 4th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $40.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $44.21.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Verizon Communications news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 15,000 shares of the firm’s 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 directly owns 59,201 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,387,576.33. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.03% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Verizon Communications 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).