Ethos Financial Group LLC Lowers Stock Position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Ethos Financial Group LLC decreased its holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 13.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 9,285 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 1,401 shares during the quarter. Ethos Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $371,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in VZ. Mainstream Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the third quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 69.6% in the fourth quarter. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 780 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 320 shares during the period. Compass Financial Services Inc purchased a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, Hager Investment Management Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VZ has been the topic of several analyst reports. Scotiabank raised their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.50 to $48.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday. Argus raised shares of Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Wolfe Research raised their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $51.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. DZ Bank raised shares of Verizon Communications from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $40.00 target price on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Verizon Communications from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $46.11.

Insider Activity at Verizon Communications

In other Verizon Communications news, EVP Vandana Venkatesh sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.79, for a total transaction of $437,900.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,459 shares in the company, valued at approximately $633,159.61. The trade was a 40.88 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Kyle Malady sold 11,085 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.88, for a total transaction of $453,154.80. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 14,590 shares in the company, valued at $596,439.20. The trade was a 43.17 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 49,085 shares of company stock worth $2,020,895 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.02% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

Shares of Verizon Communications stock opened at $44.26 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $40.49 and its 200-day simple moving average is $41.79. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12 month low of $37.59 and a 12 month high of $45.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 0.63 and a quick ratio of 0.59. The stock has a market capitalization of $186.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.69, a PEG ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.45.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 24th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.10 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.08 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, April 10th will be given a $0.6775 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.12%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 65.46%.

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).