Miller Financial Services LLC Takes $1.39 Million Position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Miller Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund purchased 34,810 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock, valued at approximately $1,392,000. Verizon Communications makes up 1.2% of Miller Financial Services LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 24th biggest holding.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Global View Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter worth about $315,000. Cornerstone Advisors LLC increased its stake in Verizon Communications by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Cornerstone Advisors LLC now owns 176,000 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $7,038,000 after buying an additional 3,200 shares during the period. Sage Mountain Advisors LLC increased its stake in Verizon Communications by 9.2% in the 4th quarter. Sage Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 14,901 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $596,000 after buying an additional 1,255 shares during the period. Davis R M Inc. grew its holdings in Verizon Communications by 6.6% during the 4th quarter. Davis R M Inc. now owns 34,397 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,376,000 after acquiring an additional 2,141 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Clare Market Investments LLC bought a new position in Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter worth about $362,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

Shares of Verizon Communications stock opened at $46.55 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $195.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.24, a PEG ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.41. 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 company has a 50 day moving average price of $40.75 and a 200 day moving average price of $41.88. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52 week low of $37.59 and a 52 week high of $47.36.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 business earned $1.08 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared 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. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.82%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is presently 65.46%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have issued reports on the stock. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. Scotiabank increased their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.50 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd. TD Cowen upgraded shares of Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Argus upgraded shares of Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Wolfe Research increased their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Verizon Communications currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $46.11.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Verizon Communications news, EVP Vandana Venkatesh sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,459 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $633,159.61. This trade represents a 40.88 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Kyle Malady sold 8,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.88, for a total transaction of $319,040.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 6,590 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $262,809.20. This represents a 54.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 49,085 shares of company stock valued at $2,020,895. 0.02% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Verizon Communications Company 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).