apricus wealth LLC Increases Position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

apricus wealth LLC raised its position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 5.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 45,237 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,350 shares during the quarter. apricus wealth LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $1,809,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VZ. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the third quarter worth $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 period. Accordant Advisory Group Inc increased its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 137.6% during the third quarter. Accordant Advisory Group Inc now owns 777 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 450 shares during the period. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the third quarter worth $44,000. Finally, IFS Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 244.1% during the fourth quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 1,115 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $45,000 after acquiring an additional 791 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on VZ shares. Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on Verizon Communications in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $48.00 price objective on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $42.00 in a research note on Friday. Scotiabank boosted their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $46.50 to $47.25 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Finally, Wolfe Research boosted their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $46.29.

Verizon Communications Trading Up 0.9 %

NYSE VZ opened at $39.54 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $166.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.04, a P/E/G ratio of 3.27 and a beta of 0.46. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52-week low of $37.58 and a 52-week high of $45.36. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $40.89 and a 200 day moving average price of $41.63. The company has a quick ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last issued its earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.11 by ($0.01). Verizon Communications had a net margin of 7.30% and a return on equity of 20.05%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.08 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.59 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 10th will be given a $0.6775 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 10th. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.85%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is presently 116.81%.

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).