Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Stock Holdings Increased by ORG Partners LLC

ORG Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 28.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 39,138 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after purchasing an additional 8,602 shares during the quarter. ORG Partners LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $1,476,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. NewEdge Wealth LLC grew its position in Verizon Communications by 18.6% in the 4th quarter. NewEdge Wealth LLC now owns 53,838 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $2,030,000 after buying an additional 8,459 shares in the last quarter. Vaughan David Investments LLC IL increased its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 2.9% during the fourth quarter. Vaughan David Investments LLC IL now owns 902,992 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $34,043,000 after acquiring an additional 25,080 shares during the period. Xcel Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Verizon Communications by 22.9% during the fourth quarter. Xcel Wealth Management LLC now owns 178,564 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $6,732,000 after purchasing an additional 33,295 shares in the last quarter. Harvey Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter worth approximately $207,000. Finally, Klingman & Associates LLC boosted its stake in Verizon Communications by 5.0% during the 4th quarter. Klingman & Associates LLC now owns 12,747 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $481,000 after purchasing an additional 604 shares in the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Verizon Communications

In related news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 24,000 shares of Verizon Communications stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.80, for a total value of $979,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 35,201 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,436,200.80. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.02% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Stock Down 1.1 %

VZ traded down $0.45 on Friday, reaching $39.71. 21,546,104 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 19,838,215. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52-week low of $30.14 and a 52-week high of $43.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47, a current ratio of 0.69 and a quick ratio of 0.65. The company has a market cap of $166.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.39, a PEG ratio of 3.31 and a beta of 0.41. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $40.60 and its 200-day moving average price is $37.98.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 23rd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate 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 analyst estimates of $34.60 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.19 earnings per share. Verizon Communications’s quarterly revenue was down .6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 10th will be issued a $0.665 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 9th. This represents a $2.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.70%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is currently 96.38%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently commented on VZ shares. KeyCorp boosted their price objective on Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. 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. StockNews.com cut shares of Verizon Communications from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 31st. Raymond James increased their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 30th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $44.50.

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).