Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Shares Bought by Stokes Family Office LLC

Stokes Family Office LLC grew its position in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 27.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 31,625 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,787 shares during the quarter. Stokes Family Office LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $1,265,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. West Tower Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter worth $348,000. North Forty Two & Co. acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter worth $284,000. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter worth $187,000. Xponance Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 649,003 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $25,954,000 after acquiring an additional 9,079 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Generali Asset Management SPA SGR acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter worth $18,904,000. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Verizon Communications

In other news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 8,000 shares of Verizon Communications stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.88, for a total value of $319,040.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 6,590 shares in the company, valued at approximately $262,809.20. The trade was a 54.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Vandana Venkatesh sold 10,000 shares of Verizon Communications stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.79, for a total value of $437,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 14,459 shares in the company, valued at $633,159.61. The trade was a 40.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 49,085 shares of company stock worth $2,020,895. Company insiders own 0.02% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:VZ opened at $44.22 on Wednesday. Verizon Communications Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $37.59 and a fifty-two week high of $47.36. The business has a 50-day moving average of $41.20 and a two-hundred day moving average of $41.97. The stock has a market capitalization of $186.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.68, a P/E/G ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.41. 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 (NYSE:VZ) last announced 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 return on equity of 19.80% and a net margin of 12.99%. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.08 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be paid a $0.6775 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.13%. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is presently 65.46%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently commented on VZ shares. Wolfe Research cut Verizon Communications from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. Argus raised Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on Verizon Communications from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Tigress Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $55.00 target price on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on Verizon Communications in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $48.00 target price for the company. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Verizon Communications has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $46.11.

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).