PKS Advisory Services LLC Invests $740,000 in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

PKS Advisory Services LLC acquired a new stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 18,510 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock, valued at approximately $740,000.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Algert Global LLC acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the third quarter worth about $1,781,000. Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 32.3% in the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 25,699 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $1,154,000 after buying an additional 6,273 shares during the period. Douglass Winthrop Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 11.5% in the third quarter. Douglass Winthrop Advisors LLC now owns 27,604 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $1,240,000 after acquiring an additional 2,843 shares during the period. Bank of Hawaii boosted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 6.8% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of Hawaii now owns 51,960 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $2,334,000 after purchasing an additional 3,311 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Concentric Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. Concentric Wealth Management LLC now owns 79,730 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $3,581,000 after purchasing an additional 1,612 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Verizon Communications

In other news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.54, for a total value of $810,800.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 45,675 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,851,664.50. This represents a 30.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Vandana Venkatesh sold 10,000 shares of the business’s 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,459 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $633,159.61. This represents a 40.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 49,085 shares of company stock valued at $2,020,895. Corporate insiders own 0.02% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

NYSE:VZ opened at $43.59 on Tuesday. 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 Inc. has a 1-year low of $37.59 and a 1-year high of $47.36. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $41.63 and a two-hundred day moving average of $42.02. The stock has a market cap of $183.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.53, a PEG ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.41.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.10 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.08 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, April 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.6775 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.22%. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is 65.46%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. DZ Bank upgraded shares of Verizon Communications from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $40.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. TD Cowen upgraded Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Scotiabank boosted their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.50 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $42.00 in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Tigress Financial restated a “buy” rating and set a $55.00 price objective on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $46.53.

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).