Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. Purchases 1,943 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. boosted its position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 1.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 150,411 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,943 shares during the quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc.’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $6,013,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in VZ. Mainstream Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. increased its holdings 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 valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 320 shares in the last quarter. Compass Financial Services Inc purchased a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter worth about $33,000. Hager Investment Management Services LLC bought a new position in Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter worth about $38,000. Finally, Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC grew its position in Verizon Communications by 655.5% during the 4th quarter. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 967 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 839 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Wolfe Research cut shares of Verizon Communications from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on Verizon Communications from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Argus raised Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on Verizon Communications in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $48.00 price target on the stock. Finally, DZ Bank upgraded Verizon Communications from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $40.00 price objective for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $46.11.

Insider Activity at Verizon Communications

In related news, EVP Vandana Venkatesh sold 10,000 shares of Verizon Communications stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.79, for a total transaction of $437,900.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 14,459 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $633,159.61. This trade represents a 40.88 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Kyle Malady sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.54, for a total value of $810,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 45,675 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,851,664.50. The trade was a 30.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 49,085 shares of company stock worth $2,020,895. 0.02% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

Shares of Verizon Communications stock opened at $44.06 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $41.52 and its 200 day moving average is $42.01. Verizon Communications Inc. has a one year low of $37.59 and a one year high of $47.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a current ratio of 0.63. The stock has a market cap of $185.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.64, a P/E/G ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.41.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.08 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The company 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 6.15%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 65.46%.

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).