Stonebrook Private Inc. Buys 1,530 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Stonebrook Private Inc. increased its stake in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 3.4% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 46,650 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,530 shares during the period. Stonebrook Private Inc.’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $1,866,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Mainstream Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Graney & King LLC bought a new position in Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. Compass Financial Services Inc bought a new position in Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter valued at $33,000. Banque Transatlantique SA bought a new position in Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter valued at $35,000. Finally, Hager Investment Management Services LLC bought a new position in Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter valued at $38,000. Institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 9,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.10, for a total value of $396,900.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 10,008 shares in the company, valued at approximately $441,352.80. This trade represents a 47.35% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Vandana Venkatesh sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 14,459 shares in the company, valued at $633,159.61. This represents a 40.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 31,500 shares of company stock worth $1,376,300. Corporate insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have commented on VZ. Wolfe Research lowered shares of Verizon Communications from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. Scotiabank increased their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $48.50 to $49.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. DZ Bank raised shares of Verizon Communications from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $40.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Evercore ISI raised shares of Verizon Communications from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $48.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Oppenheimer increased their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $47.41.

Verizon Communications Stock Up 1.1%

Shares of Verizon Communications stock opened at $43.97 on Friday. 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 Inc. has a 1 year low of $37.59 and a 1 year high of $47.36. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $43.58 and its two-hundred day moving average is $42.04. The stock has a market cap of $185.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.62, a PEG ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.39.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.15 by $0.04. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 12.99% and a return on equity of 19.80%. The company had revenue of $33.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $33.31 billion. As a group, research analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 10th were issued a $0.6775 dividend. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.16%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 10th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is currently 64.52%.

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).