Tiller Private Wealth Inc. Purchases 1,223 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Tiller Private Wealth Inc. raised its position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 16.5% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 8,621 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after buying an additional 1,223 shares during the quarter. Tiller Private Wealth Inc.’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $325,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. BCK Partners Inc. acquired a new stake in Verizon Communications during the 1st quarter worth approximately $2,101,000. Axiom Financial Strategies LLC lifted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 8.9% in the 1st quarter. Axiom Financial Strategies LLC now owns 5,980 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $279,000 after purchasing an additional 487 shares during the period. Ergoteles LLC lifted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 174.0% in the 1st quarter. Ergoteles LLC now owns 91,776 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $4,675,000 after purchasing an additional 58,283 shares during the period. Mackenzie Financial Corp lifted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 10.5% during the 1st quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 1,194,111 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $60,828,000 after acquiring an additional 113,032 shares during the period. Finally, First Western Trust Bank bought a new stake in Verizon Communications during the 1st quarter valued at $567,000. 62.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Verizon Communications news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 24,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.80, for a total transaction 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 $1,436,200.80. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.02% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. Redburn Atlantic upgraded shares of Verizon Communications from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $33.00 to $39.00 in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and set a $48.00 price target on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Tigress Financial increased their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 25th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $40.00 to $44.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. Finally, Daiwa Capital Markets upgraded shares of Verizon Communications from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price target for the company from $36.00 to $47.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $44.50.

Verizon Communications Stock Up 0.9 %

Verizon Communications stock traded up $0.35 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $40.13. The stock had a trading volume of 17,497,914 shares, compared to its average volume of 19,634,758. The company has a quick ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $40.54 and its 200-day moving average price is $38.17. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12-month low of $30.14 and a 12-month high of $43.42. The stock has a market capitalization of $168.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.24 and a beta of 0.41.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 23rd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.08 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.08. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 8.67% and a return on equity of 20.71%. The firm had revenue of $35.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $34.60 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.19 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down .6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.665 per share. 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 96.38%.

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).