EdgeRock Capital LLC Raises Position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

EdgeRock Capital LLC increased its position in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 5.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,224 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after purchasing an additional 275 shares during the period. EdgeRock Capital LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $209,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. AMF Tjanstepension AB lifted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 58.0% in the third quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 1,756,452 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $78,975,000 after purchasing an additional 644,761 shares during the period. Swedbank AB increased its holdings in Verizon Communications by 0.8% in the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 5,174,541 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $232,389,000 after buying an additional 39,403 shares in the last quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 13.3% during the 3rd quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 9,166 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $412,000 after acquiring an additional 1,078 shares during the period. Ridgepath Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 1,093.0% during the 3rd quarter. Ridgepath Capital Management LLC now owns 135,464 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $6,084,000 after acquiring an additional 124,109 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Insight Folios Inc grew its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 6.3% in the 3rd quarter. Insight Folios Inc now owns 184,961 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $8,307,000 after acquiring an additional 11,027 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. TD Cowen raised Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Wolfe Research lifted their price target on Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Argus upgraded shares of Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Verizon Communications from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 16th. Ten investment 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $46.08.

Verizon Communications Trading Up 1.3 %

Shares of Verizon Communications stock opened at $43.31 on Tuesday. Verizon Communications Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $37.58 and a fifty-two week high of $45.36. The business’s fifty day moving average is $39.95 and its two-hundred day moving average is $41.65. The company has a quick ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. The firm has a market cap of $182.31 billion, a PE ratio of 10.46, a P/E/G ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.45.

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

Verizon Communications Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, January 10th were given a $0.6775 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 10th. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.26%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is presently 65.46%.

Insider Activity at Verizon Communications

In related news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 8,000 shares of Verizon Communications stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.88, for a total value of $319,040.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 6,590 shares in the company, valued at approximately $262,809.20. This trade represents a 54.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Over the last three months, insiders sold 39,085 shares of company stock worth $1,582,995. 0.02% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

About Verizon Communications

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).