Fidelis Capital Partners LLC Grows Position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Fidelis Capital Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 76.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 14,717 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after acquiring an additional 6,372 shares during the period. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $555,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in VZ. BCK Partners Inc. purchased a new stake in Verizon Communications during the 1st quarter valued at $2,101,000. Axiom Financial Strategies LLC lifted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 8.9% during the 1st quarter. Axiom Financial Strategies LLC now owns 5,980 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $279,000 after buying an additional 487 shares in the last quarter. Ergoteles LLC grew its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 58,283 shares in the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp increased its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 10.5% during the first quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 1,194,111 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $60,828,000 after acquiring an additional 113,032 shares during the period. Finally, First Western Trust Bank bought a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the first quarter valued at approximately $567,000. 62.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Verizon Communications

In other news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 24,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was 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 directly owns 35,201 shares in the company, valued at $1,436,200.80. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.02% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on VZ shares. Tigress Financial increased their price target on Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 25th. UBS Group boosted 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. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $40.00 to $44.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. Raymond James increased their target price on Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. Finally, Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $48.00 price target on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $44.50.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

Shares of VZ traded up $0.28 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $40.41. 3,658,973 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 19,515,059. 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 business has a fifty day moving average price of $40.54 and a 200-day moving average price of $38.18. 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 $169.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.54, a P/E/G ratio of 3.25 and a beta of 0.41.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 23rd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.08 EPS 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 business 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 business posted $1.19 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down .6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.665 per share. This represents a $2.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.58%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 9th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 96.38%.

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).