WealthTrust Axiom LLC Has $4.67 Million Holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

WealthTrust Axiom LLC decreased its stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 0.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 116,884 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 392 shares during the quarter. Verizon Communications accounts for about 1.4% of WealthTrust Axiom LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 19th largest position. WealthTrust Axiom LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $4,674,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Mainstream Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. grew its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 320 shares during the period. Graney & King LLC bought a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Compass Financial Services Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, Hager Investment Management Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter valued at about $38,000. Institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Verizon Communications

In related news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 20,000 shares of Verizon Communications stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.54, for a total transaction of $810,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 45,675 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,851,664.50. This trade represents a 30.45 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, 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 value of $437,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 14,459 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $633,159.61. This trade represents a 40.88 % 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 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.02% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Stock Up 1.8 %

Verizon Communications stock opened at $43.68 on Friday. Verizon Communications Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $37.59 and a fifty-two week high of $47.36. The firm has a market capitalization of $183.88 billion, a PE ratio of 10.55, a P/E/G ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.41. The company’s 50-day moving average is $43.06 and its 200-day moving average is $42.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 0.63 and a quick ratio of 0.59.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 prior year, the business posted $1.08 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed 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 is Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.20%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 65.46%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Oppenheimer raised their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. StockNews.com cut Verizon Communications from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 13th. TD Cowen upgraded Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Finally, Scotiabank upped their price objective on Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $48.50 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $46.92.

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).