Optimum Investment Advisors Has $219,000 Position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Optimum Investment Advisors lowered its position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 6.8% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 5,475 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 400 shares during the quarter. Optimum Investment Advisors’ holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $219,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Fox Run Management L.L.C. boosted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 60.7% in the fourth quarter. Fox Run Management L.L.C. now owns 20,386 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $815,000 after acquiring an additional 7,702 shares during the last quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS bought a new stake in Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $78,389,000. Umpqua Bank boosted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 9.7% in the fourth quarter. Umpqua Bank now owns 59,293 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $2,270,000 after acquiring an additional 5,263 shares during the last quarter. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 100.3% in the fourth quarter. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,616 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $105,000 after acquiring an additional 1,310 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Intellus Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $290,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Verizon Communications

In other Verizon Communications news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 8,000 shares of the firm’s 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 6,590 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $262,809.20. This trade represents a 54.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Vandana Venkatesh sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.79, for a total value of $437,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,459 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $633,159.61. This represents a 40.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 49,085 shares of company stock worth $2,020,895 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.02% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

Shares of VZ opened at $44.06 on Friday. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12-month low of $37.59 and a 12-month high of $47.36. The business’s fifty day moving average is $41.52 and its 200 day moving average is $42.00. 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 stock has a market cap of $185.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.64, a P/E/G ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.41.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 24th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.08 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be given a dividend of $0.6775 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.15%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is currently 65.46%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently commented on VZ. DZ Bank upgraded 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. StockNews.com cut Verizon Communications from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 13th. Scotiabank upped their target price on Verizon Communications from $47.50 to $48.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Tigress Financial restated a “buy” rating and set a $55.00 price target on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price target on Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Verizon Communications currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $46.53.

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).