Benedict Financial Advisors Inc. Has $6.82 Million Stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Benedict Financial Advisors Inc. raised its position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 1.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 170,596 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,660 shares during the quarter. Verizon Communications makes up about 1.7% of Benedict Financial Advisors Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 14th largest holding. Benedict Financial Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $6,822,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. AMF Tjanstepension AB boosted its stake in Verizon Communications by 58.0% in the 3rd quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 1,756,452 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $78,975,000 after purchasing an additional 644,761 shares during the period. Alpha Financial Partners LLC bought a new position in Verizon Communications during the third quarter worth about $224,000. Watts Gwilliam & Co. LLC acquired a new stake in Verizon Communications in the 3rd quarter worth about $481,000. Beaumont Financial Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 13.7% in the 3rd quarter. Beaumont Financial Advisors LLC now owns 5,859 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $263,000 after purchasing an additional 705 shares during the period. Finally, Fermata Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 4.5% during the third quarter. Fermata Advisors LLC now owns 5,626 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $253,000 after purchasing an additional 243 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Verizon Communications news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 8,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.88, for a total transaction of $319,040.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 6,590 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $262,809.20. This represents a 54.83 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In the last three months, insiders have sold 39,085 shares of company stock valued at $1,582,995. 0.02% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

NYSE:VZ opened at $39.88 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $40.18 and its 200-day moving average is $41.53. The stock has a market cap of $167.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.17 and a beta of 0.45. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1-year low of $37.58 and a 1-year high of $45.36. The company has a current ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 net margin of 12.99% and a return on equity of 19.80%. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.08 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, January 10th were given a dividend of $0.6775 per share. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.80%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 10th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is currently 65.46%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. DZ Bank raised Verizon Communications from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $40.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. TD Cowen raised shares of Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Scotiabank upped their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $47.50 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Argus upgraded Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $46.08.

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).