MontVue Capital Management Inc. Purchases 1,367 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

MontVue Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 19.1% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 8,530 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after buying an additional 1,367 shares during the period. MontVue Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $341,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the third quarter worth $31,000. Accordant Advisory Group Inc lifted its stake in Verizon Communications by 137.6% in the 3rd quarter. Accordant Advisory Group Inc now owns 777 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 450 shares in the last quarter. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Verizon Communications by 69.6% in the 4th quarter. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 780 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 320 shares in the last quarter. Compass Financial Services Inc bought a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, Hager Investment Management Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter valued at about $38,000. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:VZ opened at $40.52 on Thursday. 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 Inc. has a 12 month low of $37.58 and a 12 month high of $45.36. The company has a market capitalization of $170.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.79, a PEG ratio of 4.17 and a beta of 0.45. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $40.03 and its 200 day moving average is $41.56.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last announced its earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.11 by ($0.01). Verizon Communications had a net margin of 12.99% and a return on equity of 19.80%. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.08 EPS. Research analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 10th were paid a $0.6775 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 10th. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.69%. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is 65.46%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VZ has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. UBS Group boosted their target price on Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Tigress Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $55.00 target price on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. TD Cowen raised shares of Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Wolfe Research upped their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $51.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Finally, DZ Bank upgraded shares of Verizon Communications from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $40.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $46.08.

Insider Transactions at Verizon Communications

In other Verizon Communications news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 8,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.88, for a total value of $319,040.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 6,590 shares in the company, valued at $262,809.20. This represents a 54.83 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 39,085 shares of company stock worth $1,582,995. 0.02% of the stock is currently owned by 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).