PYA Waltman Capital LLC Raises Stock Holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

PYA Waltman Capital LLC boosted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 7.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 22,084 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,605 shares during the period. PYA Waltman Capital LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $833,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. WealthTrust Axiom LLC lifted its stake in Verizon Communications by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. WealthTrust Axiom LLC now owns 118,806 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $4,479,000 after buying an additional 2,422 shares in the last quarter. Portland Investment Counsel Inc. lifted its stake in Verizon Communications by 173.7% in the 3rd quarter. Portland Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 652,169 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $21,137,000 after purchasing an additional 413,869 shares in the last quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC lifted its stake in Verizon Communications by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 127,632 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $5,131,000 after purchasing an additional 1,616 shares in the last quarter. 180 Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Verizon Communications by 6.2% in the 3rd quarter. 180 Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 51,757 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,677,000 after purchasing an additional 3,020 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GFS Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter worth approximately $212,000. 62.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

Verizon Communications stock traded up $0.01 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $39.50. The stock had a trading volume of 4,297,243 shares, compared to its average volume of 19,964,762. The company has a 50-day moving average of $40.43 and a two-hundred day moving average of $38.74. The company has a quick ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42. The company has a market cap of $166.27 billion, a PE ratio of 14.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 0.41. Verizon Communications Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $30.14 and a fifty-two week high of $43.42.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last issued its earnings results on Monday, April 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.12 by $0.03. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 20.41% and a net margin of 8.44%. The business had revenue of $33 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $33.23 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.20 EPS. Verizon Communications’s quarterly revenue was up .3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 10th will be issued a $0.665 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 9th. This represents a $2.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.73%. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is presently 99.25%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. UBS Group upped their price objective on Verizon Communications from $37.00 to $43.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on Verizon Communications from $36.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Redburn Atlantic raised Verizon Communications from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $33.00 to $39.00 in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $48.00 price target on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Finally, Daiwa Capital Markets raised Verizon Communications from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $36.00 to $47.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $44.21.

Insider Transactions at Verizon Communications

In other Verizon Communications news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.33, for a total value of $604,950.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 59,201 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,387,576.33. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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).