Apriem Advisors Acquires 794 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Apriem Advisors raised its stake in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 8.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 9,790 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after purchasing an additional 794 shares during the period. Apriem Advisors’ holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $392,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Convergence Financial LLC raised its stake in Verizon Communications by 30.8% during the fourth quarter. Convergence Financial LLC now owns 8,133 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $325,000 after buying an additional 1,914 shares during the last quarter. Heritage Investors Management Corp grew its holdings in Verizon Communications by 4.7% during the 4th quarter. Heritage Investors Management Corp now owns 412,099 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $16,480,000 after acquiring an additional 18,450 shares during the period. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter worth about $121,000. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC lifted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 28,485 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $1,139,000 after purchasing an additional 302 shares during the period. Finally, Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 9.7% during the 4th quarter. Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC now owns 145,570 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $5,821,000 after purchasing an additional 12,916 shares in the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:VZ opened at $43.16 on Thursday. 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. The stock has a market cap of $181.69 billion, a PE ratio of 10.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.45. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $40.07 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $41.68.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.10 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 in the prior year, the business earned $1.08 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 10th were issued a $0.6775 dividend. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.28%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 10th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is presently 65.46%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. StockNews.com downgraded Verizon Communications from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 16th. Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $48.00 price objective for the company. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $42.00 in a report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Tigress Financial restated a “buy” rating and issued a $55.00 target price on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $46.08.

Insider Activity at Verizon Communications

In related news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 11,085 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 29th. The shares were 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 owns 14,590 shares in the company, valued at approximately $596,439.20. This represents a 43.17 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Over the last three months, insiders sold 39,085 shares of company stock valued at $1,582,995. 0.02% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Verizon Communications Company 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).