Redwood Park Advisors LLC Purchases Shares of 1,056 Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Redwood Park Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 1,056 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock, valued at approximately $42,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Mainstream Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. increased its position in Verizon Communications by 69.6% during the 4th quarter. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 780 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 320 shares in the last quarter. Graney & King LLC purchased a new stake in Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter worth about $32,000. Compass Financial Services Inc purchased a new stake in Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, Hager Investment Management Services LLC purchased a new stake in Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter valued at about $38,000. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Verizon Communications news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 11,085 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.88, for a total value of $453,154.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 14,590 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $596,439.20. The trade was a 43.17 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Vandana Venkatesh sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,459 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $633,159.61. The trade was a 40.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 49,085 shares of company stock valued at $2,020,895. 0.02% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

Shares of VZ stock opened at $42.94 on Thursday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $42.93 and its 200 day simple moving average is $42.06. 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 firm has a market cap of $180.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.37, a P/E/G ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.41. Verizon Communications Inc. has a one year low of $37.59 and a one year high of $47.36.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.10 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 last year, the business posted $1.08 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be paid a $0.6775 dividend. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.31%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is currently 65.46%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VZ has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. DZ Bank upgraded Verizon Communications from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $40.00 price target for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. TD Cowen upgraded Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Argus upgraded Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. UBS Group increased their target price on Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Scotiabank increased their target price on Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $48.50 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $46.85.

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).