ST. Nicholas Private Asset Management Inc. Acquires Shares of 60,854 Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

ST. Nicholas Private Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 60,854 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock, valued at approximately $2,434,000. Verizon Communications accounts for approximately 2.2% of ST. Nicholas Private Asset Management Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 18th biggest holding.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the third quarter worth about $31,000. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 69.6% during the fourth quarter. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 780 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 320 shares during the last quarter. Compass Financial Services Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. Hager Investment Management Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter worth about $38,000. Finally, Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 655.5% during the fourth quarter. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 967 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 839 shares during the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

Shares of VZ stock opened at $42.77 on Friday. 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 business has a 50 day moving average of $39.91 and a two-hundred day moving average of $41.62. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52 week low of $37.58 and a 52 week high of $45.36. The company has a market cap of $180.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.33, a PEG ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.45.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last issued 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 return on equity of 19.80% and a net margin of 12.99%. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.08 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 10th were given a dividend of $0.6775 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 10th. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.34%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is presently 65.46%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on VZ. Scotiabank lifted their target price on Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $47.50 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. StockNews.com downgraded Verizon Communications from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Wolfe Research lifted their price target on Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. 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 research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Argus upgraded Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Ten 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. According to MarketBeat, Verizon Communications presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $46.08.

Insider Transactions at Verizon Communications

In other news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 11,085 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.88, for a total transaction of $453,154.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 14,590 shares in the company, valued at approximately $596,439.20. The trade was a 43.17 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Over the last three months, insiders sold 39,085 shares of company stock worth $1,582,995. Company insiders own 0.02% of the company’s stock.

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).