Ritholtz Wealth Management Purchases 86,177 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Ritholtz Wealth Management increased its position in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 253.9% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 120,117 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after acquiring an additional 86,177 shares during the period. Ritholtz Wealth Management’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $4,528,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. CGC Financial Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $32,000. HBC Financial Services PLLC grew its position in Verizon Communications by 320.0% during the 3rd quarter. HBC Financial Services PLLC now owns 1,050 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 800 shares during the last quarter. True Wealth Design LLC purchased a new stake in Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter worth approximately $42,000. Financial Management Professionals Inc. grew its position in Verizon Communications by 58.4% during the 4th quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. now owns 1,096 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 404 shares during the last quarter. Finally, RVW Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Verizon Communications during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $36,000. Institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

NYSE:VZ opened at $41.95 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $40.57 and its 200-day moving average price is $37.34. The company has a current ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47. The company has a market cap of $176.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.20, a P/E/G ratio of 3.31 and a beta of 0.40. Verizon Communications Inc. has a twelve month low of $30.14 and a twelve month high of $43.21.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, January 23rd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.08 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.08. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 8.67% and a return on equity of 20.71%. The company had revenue of $35.10 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.60 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.19 earnings per share. Verizon Communications’s quarterly revenue was down .6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 10th will be given a dividend of $0.665 per share. This represents a $2.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.34%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 9th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is presently 96.38%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have weighed in on VZ shares. Redburn Atlantic raised shares of Verizon Communications from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $33.00 to $39.00 in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Verizon Communications from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 20th. Tigress Financial increased their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 25th. Finally, Raymond James increased their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $43.86.

Insider Buying and Selling at Verizon Communications

In other Verizon Communications news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 24,000 shares of Verizon Communications stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.80, for a total transaction of $979,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 35,201 shares in the company, valued at $1,436,200.80. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.02% of the company’s stock.

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).